TTD can't shirk blame for pilgrims' torment

The stampede-like situation that prevailed in Tirupati recently as tokens were being issued for free darshan to devotees atop Tirumala was avoidable. This being the peak pilgrimage season, crowds should have been expected. Moreover, pandemic-related conditions in the last two years have only eased now and normal commuting has begun throughout the country.

On an average, Tirumala witnesses 70,000 pilgrims at least with the figure crossing even one lakh during special occasions. Devotees throng pilgrimage points in a hurry always and attempt to have a quick darshan and then leave the place. Not many would like to leisurely spend time here and spend money on stay etc.

The authorities of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams are well-versed with the ways of the pilgrims and know how to handle such conditions. Most of the staff are highly experienced and there should have been no confusion at all. Mercifully no lives were lost in it. But, reports suggest that it was not just those caught in the jostling and pushing near the free token counters that suffered; several others, too, could not take the long hours of waiting in the open area which had no shelter. Apart from lack of shelter, no drinking water arrangements had been made, it was alleged. A good number of the devotees who queued up consisted of women and children along with senior citizens.

It is said hundreds of the pilgrims cancelled their plans for the visit and went back without a darshan, fearing further trouble. Rubbing salt into the wounds, the authorities later blamed the pilgrims for 'lack of discipline' reports suggested. This one is a strange argument. It is not that people who flock to the TTD expect a hassle-free darshan. They are well aware of the multitudes that throng the temple. They are also prepared for the long wait one needs to undergo to have a darshan ultimately.

Making just an announcement and throwing open the counters should not have happened so casually and without any consideration to the plight of the people. It is a different issue that the TTD suspended the VVIP darshans and allowed Sarvadarshanam to contain the situation.

The TTD authorities on Tuesday opened the Vaikuntam queue complex on the Tirumala hills for the Sarvadarshanam token holders for the first time after March 21, 2020, as the temple was shut down on account of Covid-19 pandemic-forced lockdown. Since there has been a mad rush of pilgrims for the darshan, the authorities stopped the issuance of Sarvadarshanam tokens two days before. But on Tuesday, when the token system resumed, thousands of pilgrims thronged the three counters. At the token counter near Govindaraja Swamy choultry, the pilgrims jostled with one another, resulting in a near stampede. The local police, besides TTD security personnel, had a tough time controlling the surging crowds, TTD officials said. With the situation going out of hand, the TTD authorities quickly announced the withdrawal of the token system for the day and said all the pilgrims could directly go to Tirumala hills to have the darshan.

That should have been the decision in the first place. VVIPs could afford to plan their visits leisurely. Why make the poor suffer for the convenience of the rich. Ironically, the government of the day has so much concern for the 'poor cinegoers' that it tries to regulate the ticketing prices and talks of public good. Don't the poor pilgrims thronging the temples deserve the same attention?