Heads roll after Tirupati stampede — Deputy SP, two others suspended, 3 officers transferred, big changes at TTD
Tirupati temple stampede leaves 6 dead; AP CM orders suspensions, transfers, and judicial inquiry to improve crowd management at Vaikunta Ekadasi festival.
Heads roll after Tirupati stampede — Deputy SP, two others suspended, 3 officers transferred, big changes at TTD
The Andhra Pradesh government has swung into action following the Tirupati temple incident. Six people died, and many others were injured in a horrific stampede during darshan at Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple, Tirumala. In the aftermath of the Tirupati tragedy, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had ordered suspensions and transfers.
The stampede took place on Wednesday night at DevnarayanKot at Padmavathi Park, where devotees had gathered to receive tokens for the VaikuntaDwaraSarvaDarshan on the occasion of the upcoming VaikuntaEkadasi festival. The accident caused overcrowding, which induced panic and destruction.
Ramana Kumar, a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) in charge of crowd management at the location, has been suspended. TTD SV Dairy Farm Director Harinatha Reddy was also suspended for poor planning of ticket counters along with him. Three senior officers, Tirupati SP L Subbarayudu, TTD Joint Executive Officer M Goutami, and Chief Vigilance and Security Officer (CVSO) S Sreedhar have been shifted. IANS
For his part, Chief Minister Naidu, after an on-site visit, cited lapses at various levels, among others, in managing crowds at such a big festival. He ordered a judicial inquiry into the stampede at Tirupati and said that token distribution for entry at temples should only take place at the district level to avoid any crowddisaster at temples.
Naidu said senior officers had to play a proactive role and felt that the officers planned things with a "laidback" attitude. He condemned DSP Ramana Kumar for ordering the gates at Padmavathi Park to open without understanding the situation there, leading to the pushing of the devotees, who thought tickets were being distributed.
The injured are being provided with relief measures, and better crowd management will be ensured during the upcoming VaikuntaEkadasi festival. Simultaneously, Deputy CM K PawanKalyan met the TTD in Tirupati and blamed the TTD and police for mismanagement. Political leaders criticize the administration's handling of the Tirupati disaster relief.
This Tirupati tragedy has prompted serious safety and crowd-control questions at one of India's most crowded temples, leading the government to take stronger measures to prevent such incidents from being repeated.
