Tirupati:
When Venkatesh, his wife Shanthi and their son left their Visakhapatnam home for Tirupati, they were excited about the grand ‘darshan’ at the temple on the occasion of Vaikuntha Ekadashi. Little did they know this would be their last trip together.
The family was among the hundreds who had queued near the Vishnu Niwasam to collect tokens for the special ‘darshan’. At one point, one of the women who had queued up for the token started feeling unwell. The authorities opened the door to bring her out. What followed was chaos as those in the queue thought the gates had been opened for tokens and tried to pass through the door. Five people were killed and over 40 injured in the stampede. Shanthi was among the dead.
This morning, Venkatesh stood outside Sri Venkateswara Ramnarayan Ruia Government General Hospital, crushed by the tragedy.
“The police management was very poor. My wife was ahead in the queue. We did not even realise that she had fallen. After the stampede, we desperately looked for her at hospitals, but we could not locate her. We found out about her death from a viral video,” he told NDTV.
District Collector Dr S Venkateswar told NDTV that an adequate number of cops had been deployed at the counters. “This (incident) was unfortunate. Otherwise, there was sufficient force and arrangements, food, water, toilets, everything was taken care of.”
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Board, which manages the temple’s affairs, has ruled out any conspiracy.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is expected to visit Tirupati today to take stock of the situation and announce compensation for the victims. “The death of several devotees in a stampede near Vishnu Niwasam in Tirupati for tokens to visit Tirumala Srivari Vaikuntha Dwara has shocked me. This tragic incident, which took place at a time when devotees had gathered in large numbers for tokens, deeply disturbed me,” Mr Naidu said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, expressed his condolences. “Pained by the stampede in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. My thoughts are with those who have lost their near and dear ones. I pray that the injured recover soon. The AP Government is providing all possible assistance to those affected,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.
