Andhra Pradesh Government Announces ₹25 Lakh Compensation for Tirupati Stampede Victims

Andhra Pradesh: The state government has announced a compensation of ₹25 lakh each to the families of six devotees who lost their lives in a tragic stampede near the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirupati. The incident occurred on Wednesday night during the distribution of tokens for the Vaikuntha Dwara Darshan, part of the annual Vaikuntha Ekadashi festival.

Revenue Minister A. Satyaprasad made the announcement after meeting the bereaved families at Ruia Hospital, along with a delegation of ministers that included Home Minister Anita, Parthasarathy, and Anam Ramnarayan Reddy. The ministers also visited the injured devotees at SVIMS Hospital and expressed their condolences. They described the incident as unfortunate and assured families that an investigation is underway to determine whether it was caused by hasty actions or a lack of coordination.

Home Minister Anita stated that an inquiry is being conducted to ascertain if the stampede was the result of negligence or a deliberate conspiracy. She mentioned that CCTV footage is being reviewed to identify those responsible, and strict action will be taken against anyone found negligent. Steps are also being planned to prevent such incidents in the future.

The bodies of the victims are being sent to their respective hometowns after post-mortem examinations. Of the six deceased, three were from Visakhapatnam, one from Narasipatnam, and two from Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The stampede occurred near the Vishnu Nivasam temple, where the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) had set up counters for token distribution. These tokens allowed devotees a special darshan of the deity through the northern entrance during the festival, which begins on January 10. Thousands of devotees had gathered at the counters since Wednesday evening, although token distribution was scheduled to start on Thursday morning.

The tragedy unfolded when a gate was opened to assist a distressed woman, leading to a sudden surge of devotees and the stampede. The TTD had planned to distribute 1.2 lakh tokens over the first three days of the festival and had set up special counters at 94 locations in Tirupati.

The state government has assured affected families of all possible support and promised measures to ensure better crowd management during future events.