* Govt. has announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs.25 lakh for the families of the deceased

metro india news  I tirupati

A day after the Tirupati temple stampede that left six people dead and dozens injured, the Andhra Pradesh Government ordered a judicial inquiry, besides transferring three senior officials including the district Superintendent of Police. The Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu ordered suspension of two officials, including a DSP, for their dereliction of duty.

The suspended officials include DSP Ramana Kumar, Goshala Director Harinath Reddy, among the suspended, SP Subbarayudu, JEO Gowthami and CSO Sridhar are being transferred with immediate effect. A judicial inquiry will be conducted into the incident,” Naidu announced.

The stampede is being attributed to mismanagement and a lack of adequate safety measures by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).

Expressing grief over the incident, Naidu said he is announcing Rs 25 lakh ex gratia to the kin of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh to those injured.

Thimmakka and Eswaramma, who sustained grievous injuries would be given Rs 5 lakh each. Besides, a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each will be given to each of the 33 injured persons.

 How it happened

According to officials, the situation escalated when a devotee fell ill inside Padmavati Park, a closed holding area near the token counter. Authorities opened the gates to provide medical assistance, but a misunderstanding ensued among devotees, who believed the gates were opened to allow token distribution.

The resulting surge caused many to be pushed forward, leading to suffocation and injuries as hundreds of them jostled for tickets for Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam at Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple. The incident took place at approximately 9:45 p.m. on January 8.

One of the victims was identified as Mallika from Salem, Tamil Nadu, while others included Buddeti Naidubabu from Narsipatnam, Rajini, Lavanya, Shanti from Visakhapatnam, and Nirmala from Bellary, Karnataka. Hundreds of devotees turned up from across the country for the 10-day Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam commencing from January 10.

Tokens were issued earlier than planned?

The TTD had earlier announced that tokens for Vaikunta Ekadashi, scheduled for January 10, would be distributed from 5 AM on January 9. However, the overwhelming influx of devotees forced officials to begin token issuance eight hours earlier than planned. Over 62,000 devotees had already visited the temple on January 6, indicating the immense crowd pressure leading up to the festival.

Monitoring mechanisms in Tirupati

A new system of issuing tokens was introduced by the previous regime in Tirupati as opposed to the earlier system of giving them in Tirumala hills. Earlier, Naidu visited the hospital where the injured are being treated.

Injured rushed to hospital

The injured were rushed to Ruia Government General Hospital and Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS). As of now, 18 individuals are undergoing treatment at Ruia Hospital, while eight others are admitted to SVIMS.

Senior police and district officials, including Superintendent of Police Subbarayudu, swiftly arrived at the scene to manage the situation and ensure medical aid for the victims.

Chandrababu further pressed officials on several lapses, asking whether adequate instructions had been given to the police officer in charge of crowd control. He questioned why, despite having a large administrative setup, ticket distribution was poorly managed. 

 CM grills officials

During his visit, the Chief Minister inquired about the reasons behind the incident and expressed strong displeasure toward the TTD Executive Officer (EO), Joint Executive Officer (JEO), District Collector, and SPs.

When the TTD EO explained that the stampede occurred after opening the gate and assured that the situation was under control, Chandrababu questioned, “Don’t you understand how human psychology works?” He criticized the management for accommodating 2,500 devotees in an area meant for only 2,000 people and demanded an explanation for allowing the excess crowd.