6 killed in Tirupati devotees stampede

Tirupati : In a tragic incident, at least six devotees lost their lives and around 25 others were injured in a stampede on Wednesday night in Tirupati. The chaos erupted as thousands gathered in queue lines to secure Vaikuntha Dwara Darshan tokens for worshipping Lord Venkateswara. Among the deceased, five were said to be women and the incident has left the community in shock.

The Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) had earlier announced the issuance of 1.20 lakh tokens for darshan on January 10, 11, and 12. While the tokens were scheduled to be distributed starting at 5 am on Thursday, the overwhelming number of devotees arriving from Wednesday afternoon prompted the TTD to begin token issuance from the same night itself.

Despite this decision, the influx of devotees to the eight ticket distribution centres in Tirupati led to overcrowding and eventually stampedes at three locations: Bairagipatteda, Srinivasam and Satyanarayanapuram.

The most severe incident occurred at Bairagipatteda Rama Naidu School, where police opened a gate to assist a devotee with a breathing issue. This sudden opening caused a surge as devotees rushed to enter, resulting in a stampede. A woman from Tamil Nadu died on the spot and several others sustained injuries. Emergency services were swiftly mobilised, and the injured were rushed to Ruia Hospital. Severely injured individuals were later transferred to SVIMS Hospital for advanced care.

Unfortunately, five of the injured succumbed to their injuries during treatment. TTD Executive Officer J Syamala Rao and District Collector Dr S Venkateswar monitored the medical response.

District SP L Subba Rayudu confirmed that the situation was brought under control and that token distribution resumed. Meanwhile, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed deep grief over the incident. He described the loss of lives as heart-wrenching and directed officials to ensure immediate and adequate medical care for the injured. The Chief Minister also ordered senior officials to oversee relief efforts and ensure the situation is fully stabilised.

Former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has expressed profound shock over the tragic deaths of devotees during a stampede at the token distribution center for the Vaikuntha Darshan of Lord Venkateswara Swamy in Tirupati.

In a statement, he extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased. He urged the government to ensure better medical services for those injured in the unfortunate incident. He described it as extremely distressing that devotees who had come to seek blessings for Vaikuntha Ekadashi, lost their lives in such a manner.