Tirupati witnessed a tragedy on Wednesday night when a stampede broke out at the token counters set up for Vaikuntha Ekadashi celebrations. Four devotees, including a woman from Salem in Tamil Nadu, lost their lives and several others were injured.
Chaos at the token counter
The incident took place at several token issuance centres, where thousands of devotees gathered to collect entry tokens for Vaikuntha Dwaram darshan of Lord Venkateswara darshan scheduled from January 10 to 19. Though the counters were scheduled to open at 5 AM, devotees started queuing up in the early evening, leading to huge crowds.
Stampedes were reported in places like Srinivasam, Bairagipatteda Ramanaidu School, and Satyanarayanapuram. One woman died in Srinivasa, and several others fainted. The injured devotees were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
CM Chandrababu Naidu expresses grief
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu expressed grief and responded swiftly. According to a Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) statement, Naidu spoke to officials on the phone and assessed the condition and treatment of the injured.
The chief minister directed senior officials to rush to the spot and supervise relief measures, ensuring proper medical treatment to the injured immediately. Authorities are now investigating the cause of the collision to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Management challenges
To cater to the huge influx of pilgrims, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) had announced token distribution at eight locations over three days (January 10-12). Despite the presence of TTD patrol staff and local police, the large number of people involved made crowd control difficult, raising concerns about the adequacy of security measures.
Vaikuntha Ekadashi festival
It is expected to attract lakhs of pilgrims during Vaikuntha Ekadashi celebrations through special darshan through Vaikuntha Dwaram. The TTD clarified that only valid token holders would be allowed to visit and then announced stringent measures to manage the crowds.
Authorities respond
The tragedy has prompted officials to rethink their plans for the 10-day festival. Additional token counters have been set up, and the administration has assured devotees of improved crowd management and safety protocols to prevent such incidents in the future.
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