At least six people died and 20 were injured in a stampede Wednesday night at a temple in southern India while hundreds of devotees jostling to get tickets for the annual celebration of Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam, very auspicious for Hindus.
The incident occurred in the city of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh state when large crowds gathered at ticket distribution counters ahead of the ten-day religious event, which begins on January 10.
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the foundation that runs the temple, had set up special counters at several places, including a high school near the temple, to distribute tokens for the festival, according to The Indian Express newspaper. Thousands of devotees began lining up early on Wednesday morning and, In the afternoon, the crowd began to jostle. According to what the president of TTD, BR Naidu, told the media, The stampede was triggered when a door was opened to help a woman who had fallen ill. The sudden opening caused the already dense crowd to surge forward, resulting in a crushing avalanche.
Andhra Pradesh state chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu expressed his condolences in X, stating that he was “deeply shocked” by the tragedy.
TTD board member Bhanu Prakash apologized for the incident, calling it unfortunate, according to Indian news agency PTI, and acknowledged “some loopholes” in the arrangements and stated that strict action will be taken, while acknowledging that lives lost cannot be restored.
According to belief, during a specific period of the year, a special entrance is opened in the Tirumala temple, which is believed to represent the gate of Vaikunta (the heavenly abode of the god Vishnu, one of the main deities of the Hindu pantheon). It is said that passing through this door is like symbolically entering the abode of the god Vishnu and obtaining his direct blessing.
