‘Gate opened for unwell woman; crowd surged forward leading to stampede in temple’

HYDERABAD: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has issued an explanation for the stampede that claimed the lives of six people at the Tirumala Tirupati temple. The TTD oversees the functioning of the temple. TTD Chairman B R Naidu said the incident happened when the gate was opened to assist a woman feeling unwell.

Lack of adequate arrangements led to the stampede. Naidu said when the gate opened, the crowd surged forward all at once leading to the uproar. One of the dead has been identified. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu condoled the death.

Mallika of Salem in Tamil Nadu, fell ill. She collapsed while waiting in line at the token counter at Bairagi Patil Park. A gate was opened to take her to the hospital. Seeing this, people rushed in and this led to the stampede.

TTD board member Bhanu Prakash Reddy said that such an incident has never happened in the history of the Tirupati temple. He apologized to the devotees. He also clarified that an investigation will be conducted into the incident and strong action will be taken.

The accident occurred during the distribution of Vaikuntha Ekadasi coupons at the Tirumala Tirupati temple. Three of the dead are women. Vaikuntha Ekadasi is being celebrated in Tirupati tomorrow. As part of this, 90 counters were opened for the distribution of coupons for Vaikuntha Dwara darshan.