Six persons, including three women from Visakhapatnam, died and over 30 others sustained injuries in a stampede at the counters set up for the issue of tokens for Vaikuntha Dwara Sarvadarsanam in Tirupati on 8 January night.
With the TTD announcing issue of tokens from the early hours of 9 January, devotees in thousands thronged the counters and the police failed to control the surging rush. The authorities, in a bid to ease the situation, opened counters in advance. As the devotees started jostling, it resulted in a stampede leading to the death of devotees.
The dead were identified as Rajani (47), Lavanya (40), Santhi (34), all from Visakhapatnam, B Naidubabu (51), from Narsipatnam in Anakapalle district, Nirmala (50), from Ballari in Karnataka and Malliga (49) from Salem in Tamil Nadu. The injured were admitted to Ruia and other hospitals in Tirupati.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister K Pawan Kalyan, former Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, BJP State president Daggubati Purandeswari expressed shock over the incident. While praying for speedy recovery of the injured, Narendra Modi assured the Andhra Pradesh government of all help.
Meanwhile, TTD Chairman B R Naidu said that the Chief Minister was serious on the Tirupati Stampede issue. The Chief Minister would announce ex gratia to the family members of the victims on 9 January.
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This article is written by Senior Journalist Lakkoju Nagesh Babu
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