What caused the stampede in Tirupati?

Tirupati Municipal Commissioner Narapureddy Maurya said that the rushing of thousands of people at once to the counter led to the stampede situation.

South First Desk

Published Jan 09, 2025 | 9:59 AM ⚊ Updated Jan 09, 2025 | 9:59 AM

Officials carrying an injured person in Tirupati.

Following the stampede that occurred on Wednesday night at the token counters in Tirupati, the district collector on Thursday, 9 January, confirmed that six people lost their lives and over 30 others were injured.

Tirupati Municipal Commissioner, Narapureddy Maurya, said that the rushing of thousands of people at once to the counter led to the stampede situation.

Here is a look at how the stampede occurred at the token counter.

Live: Tirupati Stampede: At least six killed; over 40 people injured

Eight centres to issue tokens

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) officials have made arrangements for the issuance of slotted Sarvadarshan tokens at eight centres in Tirupati for the darshan of Tirumala Srivari Vaikuntha Dwara on the occasion of Vaikuntha Ekadashi.

Earlier, it was announced that the tokens would be issued at 5 am on Thursday.

With this, devotees reached the token issuance centres on Wednesday morning for the Vaikuntha Dwara darshan tokens. A large number of devotees flocked to Ramanaidu Government High School in Bairagipatteda, Satyanarayanapuram Zilla Parishad High School, Vishnunivasam, Srinivasam, Indira Maidan, Ramachandra Pushkarani and Emar Palli areas.

Initially, there was a minor scuffle at the Zilla Parishad High School at Jeevakona. Tirupati Superintendent of Police (SP) Subbarayudu went there and brought the situation under control.

What caused the stampede

Following that, the devotees who had gathered in large numbers at Ramanaidu High School in Bairagipatteda were shifted to the nearby Padmavati Park, a closed area.

- At 8.15 pm, a person in the park fell ill and the authorities were about to open the gates to provide him with medical treatment.
- Some devotees, thinking that the gates were opened to let them join the queues, tried to push and move forward.
- Many devotees were pushed and many fell.
- Many fell seriously ill due to suffocation.
- “The tragedy occurred even before the gate was opened to facilitate the evacuation of the person who had fallen ill, said District SP Subbarayudu.

Five women and one man were among the deceased. They have been identified as Buddeti Naidubabu from Narsipatnam, Rajini, Lavanya, Shanti from Visakhapatnam, Nirmala from Bellary in Karnataka and Malliga from Salem in Tamil Nadu.

Due to the large number of devotees, the issuance of tokens started eight hours earlier than the previously announced time. TTD EO Shyamala Rao said that the decision to issue tokens was taken due to the increased crowd.

In the wake of the stampede, senior officials have tightened security at the token issuance centres and additional forces have been deployed.

(With inputs from Srinivas Vedulla.)