Tirupati stampede | TTD’s preparedness falls flat before the heavy rush

TTD's meticulous planning for Vaikunta Ekadasi tokens overwhelmed by devotee rush, leading to tragic stampede incident.

The meticulous planning and near-perfect execution of arrangements made by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) ahead of the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival fell flat in front of the heavy rush of devotees that flocked Tirupati a day ahead of the scheduled issue of tokens.

The TTD management had opened 94 counters in nine centres across Tirupati/Tirumala. Vaikunta Dwara Darshan (entry through the celestial threshold) has been announced for ten days ie., from January 10 to 19.

The issue of tokens is officially scheduled to start at 5 a.m. on January 9 for darshan on January 10 (Friday), where 1.20 lakh tokens have been made available from January 10 to 12. The issue of tokens will continue till the quota for the first three days is exhausted, after which they will be issued in the regular counters at Srinivasam , Vishnu Nivasam and Bhudevi complexes in the city for the next seven days.

To secure the tokens, devotees gathered at the centres right from Wednesday afternoon and firmed up their position in the queue line. However, with the rush increasing and the devotees turning impatient, pushing and jostling was witnessed at Ramachandra Pushkarini, Mahati auditorium, Jeevakona and Bairagipatteda centres.
Policemen deployed at the centres to control the crowd had a tough time in ensuring order, as the devotee surge continued to increase by every passing hour, leading to the death of a woman devotee at Bairagipatteda centre.

Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has expressed his grief over the incident in which four persons died in the stampede for Vaikunta Ekadasi tokens.

He spoke to the TTD authorities over telephone and enquired about the quality of treatment offered to the injured persons and also directed the district officials to rush to the spot to bring the situation to control.

Similarly, Minister for IT and Education Nara Lokesh also expressed his condolences to the bereaved family members and asked the TTD authorities to make more vigorous arrangements to ensure that such incidents did not recur.