Wed Jan 08 16:50:00 UTC 2025: **Six Pilgrims Killed in Stampede for Tirupati Temple Tokens**
TIRUPATI, INDIA – Six pilgrims died and several others were injured in a stampede at Tirupati on Thursday morning. The incident occurred during the distribution of tokens for the Vaikuntha Dwara Darshanam, a special darshan (viewing) of the deity at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple.
Thousands of devotees gathered at distribution centers in anticipation of the token release, leading to an uncontrollable surge of people. The stampede occurred at Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple and near Ramanayudu School in Bairagipatteda. Three of the deceased were women. The injured were rushed to Ruia Hospital, where the Collector Venkateswar and TTD EO Shyamaraju oversaw medical assistance.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) had planned to distribute 1.2 lakh tokens over three days (10th, 11th, and 12th of the month) at nine centers across Tirupati. However, the unexpectedly large number of devotees who arrived early led to the tragic incident. Eyewitnesses reported that the stampede started when a queue line opened unexpectedly, causing a sudden rush of pilgrims. Concerns have been raised about insufficient security at the distribution points and a lack of communication about the crowd size to higher authorities.
Authorities responded by deploying additional police and vigilance forces to the area. While the situation has been brought under control, the possibility of further injuries remains. The TTD EO announced that token distribution began earlier than planned because of the already large crowds on Wednesday night.
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