Two days before the Vaikuntha Ekadasi festival at the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirumala Hills, Andhra Pradesh, massive crowds gathered at over 90 ticket counters set up for the event.
Authorities had planned to distribute 1,20,000 tokens for the “sarva darshan” (free darshan) of Lord Venkateswara Swamy for the first three days of the festival, scheduled from January 10 to 12. The token distribution was set to begin at 5 a.m. on Thursday, but thousands of devotees started queuing up the night before at counters arranged by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which manages the temple’s operations.
Tokens were available at 94 counters located at three major pilgrim accommodations—Vishnu Nivasam, Srinivasam, and Bhudevi complexes—as well as other sites, including Satyanarayanapuram, Bairagipatteda, and Ramanaidu School, officials confirmed.
According to Tirupati Municipal Commissioner N. Moruya, the situation spiraled out of control at the MGM High School counter in Bairagipatteda, near Vishnu Nivasam. Crowds of 4,000 to 5,000 devotees began arriving on Wednesday morning, and by evening, the gathering became unruly, leading to pushing and shoving.
TTD Chairman B.R. Naidu explained that chaos erupted when a gate was opened to help an unwell woman, causing the crowd to surge forward. Due to insufficient arrangements to manage the swelling crowd, a stampede ensued on Wednesday evening, resulting in at least six deaths and over 40 injuries. Tirupati Collector S. Venkateswar told NDTV that it took approximately 15 minutes to evacuate and control the crowd.
The Vaikuntha Ekadasi festival is significant for devotees, allowing them to enter the northern gate for a special darshan of Lord Venkateswara.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to the bereaved families, while Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi urged Congress members to offer assistance. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, deeply moved by the tragedy, shared his sorrow in a post on X, writing, “The loss of lives in the stampede near Vishnu Nivasam for Tirumala Srivari Vaikuntha Dwara darshan tokens has deeply shocked me. It is heartbreaking that this tragedy occurred amidst the gathering of devotees for the festival.”
