President Murmu, PM Modi condole loss of lives in Tirupati stampede

NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu extended condolences to the bereaved families of the Tirupati stampede incident in Andhra Pradesh, in which six people were killed and 40 others injured.

“Distressed to know that a stampede in Tirupati led to loss of life of many devotees”, Murmu said in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday morning. “I extend my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and pray for speedy recovery of the injured”, the post added.

Distressed to know that a stampede in Tirupati led to loss of life of many devotees. I extend my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and pray for speedy recovery of the injured.

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) January 9, 2025

Andra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu who had condoled the deaths following the incident is due to meet the families of the deceased later in the day. As many as six people lost their lives and several others were injured after a stampede broke out near Vishnu Niwasam close to the Tirumala Srivari Vaikuntha Dwara ticketing counter, during the distribution of ‘darshan’ tokens.

Pained by the stampede in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. My thoughts are with those who have lost their near and dear ones. I pray that the injured recover soon. The AP Government is providing all possible assistance to those affected: PM @narendramodi

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) January 8, 2025

Earlier on Wednesday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives and stated that the state government is providing all possible assistance to the incident victims.

Vaikunta Dwara Darshan is scheduled to be held at the Tirumala Sri Venkateswara Temple from January 10 to 19. It allows devotees to pass through the sacred gate to receive Lord Venkateswara’s blessings. The TTD announced that offline tokens for darshan would be issued from today, with nine token distribution centres set up in Tirupati.

#WATCH | Andhra Pradesh: A stampede-like situation occurred at Vishnu Nivasam in Tirupati during the distribution of Vaikunta Dwara Sarva Darshan tokens. More details awaited. pic.twitter.com/vhoEYGLW2U

— ANI (@ANI) January 8, 2025

Since Wednesday morning, devotees from several parts of the country have been arriving in large numbers to collect tokens but, by the end of the day, a heavy crowd was observed at all the centres, leading to congestion in those areas. (ANI)