Tirupati witnessed a tragedy on Wednesday night time when a stampede broke out on the token counters arrange for Vaikuntha Ekadashi celebrations. Six devotees, together with a girl from Salem in Tamil Nadu, misplaced their lives and a minimum of 40 others had been injured.
Chaos on the token counter
The incident befell at a number of token issuance centres, the place 1000’s of devotees gathered to gather entry tokens for Vaikuntha Dwaram darshan of Lord Venkateswara darshan scheduled from January 10 to 19. Although the counters had been scheduled to open at 5 AM, devotees began queuing up within the early night, main to large crowds.
Stampedes had been reported in locations like Srinivasam, Bairagipatteda Ramanaidu College, and Satyanarayanapuram. One girl died in Srinivasa, and a number of other others fainted. The injured devotees had been rushed to a close-by hospital for therapy.
PM Modi expresses grief
In the meantime, Prime Minister Narendra Modi additionally expressed condolences and stated, “Pained by the stampede in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. My ideas are with those that have misplaced their close to and pricey ones. I pray that the injured get well quickly. The AP Authorities is offering all potential help to these affected.”
CM Chandrababu Naidu orders probe
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu expressed grief and responded swiftly. In accordance with a Chief Minister’s Workplace (CMO) assertion, Naidu spoke to officers on the telephone and assessed the situation and therapy of the injured.
“CM N Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the stampede scenario with DGP, TTD EO, District Collector, SP. CM Naidu says the lack of lives of devotees who got here for the darshan is deeply saddening. CM Naidu questioned why they might not make preparations accordingly when it was identified that devotees would are available massive numbers. CM Naidu ordered officers to make sure higher therapy for victims to forestall improve within the demise toll,” stated the CMO.
The chief minister directed senior officers to hurry to the spot and supervise reduction measures, guaranteeing correct medical therapy to the injured instantly. Authorities at the moment are investigating the reason for the collision to forestall comparable incidents sooner or later.
Administration challenges
To cater to the massive inflow of pilgrims, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) had introduced token distribution at eight places over three days (January 10-12). Regardless of the presence of TTD patrol employees and native police, the massive variety of folks concerned made crowd management tough, elevating issues concerning the adequacy of safety measures.
Vaikuntha Ekadashi competition
It’s anticipated to draw lakhs of pilgrims throughout Vaikuntha Ekadashi celebrations by means of particular darshan by means of Vaikuntha Dwaram. The TTD clarified that solely legitimate token holders could be allowed to go to after which introduced stringent measures to handle the crowds.
Authorities reply
The tragedy has prompted officers to rethink their plans for the 10-day competition. Extra token counters have been arrange, and the administration has assured devotees of improved crowd administration and security protocols to forestall such incidents sooner or later.
Additionally learn | ISRO postpones SpaDex mission docking due to satellite drift, new date awaited