look news india
A stampede-like situation broke out at the iconic Tirupati Balaji temple in Andhra Pradesh on January 8, in which 6 people died and many others were injured. This accident happened near the distribution center of Vaikunth Dwar Darshan tickets.
One of the deceased has been identified as a woman named Malika. The injured have been admitted to Sri Venkateswara Ramnarayan Ruia Government Hospital.
How did the incident happen?
Thousands of devotees stood in queues to get tickets for Vaikuntha Dwara darshan at Tirupati temple.
- Since the morning of January 8, around 4000 devotees were present at various ticket distribution centres.
- The stampede broke out when people were allowed to stand in line for token distribution at Bairagi Patti Park.
situation worsened due to fighting
- The queues arranged by TTD (Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams) were filled with huge crowd.
- The situation went out of control due to the large number of devotees coming from local and outside areas.
- Suddenly a fight started at the counter of Vishnu Dham, leading to chaos and stampede.
- In this stampede, 6 people including a female devotee lost their lives, while many others were injured.
Token distribution in the coming days
TTD has announced that the tokens will be distributed for the next few days starting at 5 am on January 9:
- A total of 1.20 lakh tokens will be allotted for January 10, 11, and 12.
- Tokens will be issued for other days also.
- Devotees had started gathering at the counters from Wednesday evening itself, because receiving Dwar Darshan tokens was to start from Thursday morning.
Chief Minister’s reaction
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu expressed grief over this accident and directed for immediate relief operations.
- The Chief Minister deployed officers to the spot to ensure better treatment for the injured.
- Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said,
“The Chief Minister spoke to the officials on phone and asked them to speed up the relief and rescue operations. He directed higher officials to go to the spot and provide all possible assistance to the injured.”
Key points related to the incident
- Reason for the incident: Excessive crowding and disorganized queues.
- Death toll: 6 people.
- Treatment of the injured continues at Sri Venkateswara Ramnarayan Ruia Government Hospital.
- Future Plan: TTD has assured to further streamline the token distribution process.