Tirumala tragedy: 10 injured in stampede-like situation; 10k pilgrims swarm ticket counters

Tirupati: More than ten people were injured in a stampede-like situation at the Tirumala shrine in Tirupati. After lifting COVID-10 restrictions, there were at least 10,000 pilgrims at the counter to get Slotted Sarva Darshan (SSD) tickets.

Such a stampede-like situation was never seen in the last ten years. Surprisingly, Tirupati, which witness over 80,000 devotees for darshan a day, couldn't anticipate the crowd could be so huge given the three-day holidays.

A video has now gone viral on social media. Thousands of people including children could be seen crying and screaming.

People carrying luggage could be seen pushing each other to get a ticket. Police desperately tried to bring the situation under control. While the police were trying their best, many pilgrims were seen jumping queue and climbing the fence. The incident occurred when the ticket centers at Govindaraja Swamy Choultry, Srinivasam Complex, and Bhudevi Complex in Alipiri resumed issuing tokens after remaining closed for two consecutive days.

Some of the women and children, who had been waiting for hours, fell unconscious, and a few were shifted to the hospital. According to the TTD officials, they have released 20,000 SSD tokens through three counters in Tirupati. By the time the tokens crossed 10,000, the crowd had swelled, and the situation worsened, officials said."There was an unexpected rush. However, the situation was brought under control within an hour. Devotees were shifted to Tirumala compartments," Chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), YV Subbareddy said.

It took at least 20 hours to hold Sarva Darshan. TTD has now canceled VIP break darshans until 17 April.