6 Dead and 30 Injured in Stampede at Tirupati Temple’s Token Counter
A stampede at Tirupati’s Vishnu Nivasam centre during Vaikuntha Ekadashi token distribution led to 6 deaths and several injuries, with authorities blaming poor crowd management.
A tragic incident occurred at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirumala on the evening of 8th January 2025, ahead of the Vaikuntha Ekadashi celebrations. A stampede broke out in the queues at Vishnu Nivasam centre as devotees waited for tokens to get the ‘Vaikunthadwara Sarvadarshan’, a special darshan that takes place during the festival.
The chaos started around 8 pm when the gates were opened to allow an unwell devotee to exit the queue. Many others took advantage of this moment and surged forward, overwhelming the token distribution process. The situation worsened due to overcrowding and poor crowd management by temple authorities.
Reports confirm that at least 40 people were injured, including 10 critically. Tragically, 6 people lost their lives. Four died at Ruia Hospital, while two others succumbed to injuries at SVIMS Hospital. The rest of the injured are being treated, and authorities fear the toll might rise.
Footage of the incident quickly went viral on social media, showing the horrific scenes of overcrowding and chaos. Devotees present at the scene expressed their anger over the lack of security and crowd control, suggesting that the incident could have been prevented with a better system in place.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which manages the temple, has apologized and promised a thorough investigation into the incident. TTD Chairman BR Naidu blamed overcrowding and visited the injured at the hospitals. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed his shock, demanding answers from TTD about the lack of proper safety measures during the token distribution.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu offered condolences to the victims’ families and assured assistance. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also urged party workers to provide support to those affected.
In a separate controversy, a recent video by ISH raised concerns about beef fat and fish oil being found in the famous Tirupati laddu prasad, creating national and religious debates. If you missed the video, you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/e7CDYcR9x3c
