A major accident took place in the famous Tirupati temple of Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday. Six people were killed and 40 injured in the incident. The incident took place during the distribution of tokens for darshan at the Vaikuntha Gate of Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala. The injured have been admitted to Sri Venkateswara Ramanarayana Ruia Government General Hospital in Tirupati. President Droupadi Murmu expressed her condolences over the death of six devotees in this tragic incident and said, "I express my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured." External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar expressed his condolences and prayers to the affected families and the injured and said that he is saddened by the unfortunate stampede at the Tirupati temple. Heartfelt condolences to the families who have lost loved ones. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured.
Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu's statement
CM Chandrababu expressed deep grief over the death of four devotees in the stampede near Vishnu Srinivasam in Tirupati for tokens at Tirumala Srivari Vaikuntha Gate and said that he is deeply saddened by the loss of four lives in the incident, which happened when a large number of devotees had gathered for tokens. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has directed top officials to visit the site of the incident and take relief measures so that the injured get better treatment.
What caused the stampede at Tirupati temple?
The Vaikuntha Dwarka Darshan is scheduled to be held from January 10 to 19 at the Tirumala Sri Venkateswara Temple. It allows devotees to pass through the holy gate to seek the blessings of Lord Venkateswara. TTD has announced that offline tokens will be issued for darshan from today. Nine token distribution centers have been set up in Tirupati for token issuance. A large number of devotees from many parts of the country arrived since morning to collect tokens and by the end of the day, a huge crowd was seen at all the centers, leading to a stampede.