Stampede at Tirupati Token Centers for Vaikunta Dwara Darshan Leaves Six Dead

Tirupati witnessed a tragic incident on Tuesday when a stampede at Vaikunta Dwara darshan token issuance centers led to the death of six devotees, including five women. The incident occurred as large crowds of devotees gathered at token distribution centers, eager to secure tokens for the Vaikunta Dwara darshan scheduled to take place in Tirumala from January 10 to 19.

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) had announced arrangements for the issuance of tokens starting Wednesday at various locations in Tirupati and Tirumala. Anticipating a massive turnout, devotees began thronging the token centers a day in advance. The centers at Srinivasam, Bairagipatteda, and Satyanarayanapuram witnessed significant overcrowding, leading to a stampede-like situation. Several devotees collapsed during the commotion and were rushed to Ruia Government Hospital in Tirupati for treatment. Unfortunately, six of them succumbed to their injuries, including five women.

Local authorities, upon learning of the incident, rushed to the scene to restore order and manage the crowd. Additional police forces were deployed to the token centers to prevent further incidents. Efforts are underway to control the situation and ensure the safe distribution of tokens to the remaining devotees.