Stampede at Tirupati's Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh, several injured

NEW DELHI: A stampede-like situation occurred at Tirupati's Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh in which several devotees were reportedly injured. According to initial reports, a large number of devotees had gathered at the ticket counter in the shrine to secure Sarvadarshan tickets, which led to the stampede-like situation hereat the temple. 

By 'Sarvadarshanam' here it means 'darshan to all'. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams  (TTD) provides free tokens for 'darshan' to all the devotees coming to the shrine. 

However, the TTD governing body officials had stopped issuing free tokens for darshan for the past two days. Due to this, a large number of devotees stayed in Tirumala.

This morning, the devotees tried to enter the temple by jumping over the iron fence set up there. This resulted in a stampede-like situation at the Tirumala temple.

According to news agency ANI, at least three people were injured in a stampede-like situation at the Tirumala shrine in the Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh.

Andhra Pradesh | At least three people were injured in a stampede-like situation at the Tirumala shrine in Tirupati.

A large crowd of pilgrims gathered at the ticket counter in the shrine to secure Sarvadarshan tickets, which led to the stampede-like situation. pic.twitter.com/aXcxGcCqrL

— ANI (@ANI) April 12, 2022

There is growing anger among the devotees who say that the stampede occurred due to the negligence of the TTD officials. 

TTD PRO Ravi Kumar later said, "There was a huge rush at three token counters in Tirupati. However, looking at the rush, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has decided to allow pilgrims directly into the compartments of Tirumala for darshan. The situation is normal now.'' 

The Tirumala Venkateswara Temple was also closed for devotees during the Coronavirus pandemic. However, the Covid-19 restrictions were lifted on March 14 this year. Sri Venkateswara Swami Vaari Temple, popularly known as Tirupati Balaji Temple, is a Hindu temple situated in the hill town of Tirumala at Tirupati in the Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh. 

The Temple is dedicated to Venkateswara, a form of Lord Vishnu, who is believed to have appeared here to save mankind from the trials and troubles of Kali Yuga. Tirumala Hills are part of the Seshachalam Hills range.