Andhra Pradesh Offers Rs 25 Lakh to Families of Victims of Tirupati Stampede

Tirupati, Jan 9 (NationPress) The government of Andhra Pradesh has announced a compensation of Rs. 25 lakh for each family of the six devotees who perished in the tragic stampede that occurred on Wednesday night during the distribution of tickets for a sacred event at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple.

The announcement was made by Revenue Minister A. Satyaprasad following a visit by a ministerial team to the families of the deceased at Ruia Hospital.

This delegation, which included ministers Anita, Parthasarthy, and Anam Ramnarayan Reddy, also visited the injured at SVIMS Hospital.

The ministers described the incident as unfortunate, stating that an investigation is underway to determine whether it was caused by any hasty actions or a lack of coordination.

Home Minister Anita mentioned that the investigation would also focus on whether the incident was accidental or a result of conspiracy, while noting that CCTV footage would be crucial in identifying any lapses that led to the tragedy.

She assured that strict actions would be enforced against anyone found negligent.

Furthermore, measures will be implemented to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future, she added.

The ministers confirmed that the remains of the victims are being transported back to their hometowns post-autopsy.

Among the deceased, three hailed from Visakhapatnam, one from Narsipatnam, while two others were from Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The stampede took place near the Vishnu Nivasam temple in Tirupati, where the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) had established counters for distributing tokens for the Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam during the annual Vaikunta Ekadashi festival, commencing on January 10.

During this 10-day event, devotees are granted special darshan of the deity through the northern entrance.

Thousands of devotees from different states began lining up at the counters from Wednesday evening, despite the token distribution being scheduled to start on Thursday morning.

The stampede was triggered when one of the gates was opened to assist a distressed woman, causing a surge among the devotees.

The TTD had organized the distribution of 1.20 lakh tokens for the initial three days of the festival (January 10–12), with special counters set up at 94 locations in Tirupati.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is expected to visit Tirupati later today to meet with the families of the victims and visit the hospitals where the injured are receiving treatment.

The Chief Minister expressed his condolences for the lives lost in this tragedy and has ordered a thorough investigation.