'For 5 minutes, thought all of us were dead': Tirupati stampede survivor recalls horror

Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh: Survivors of the deadly stampede at Tirupati on Wednesday that left six dead, have recounted the horror, even as the Congress' state unit held the TTD that governs the Lord Venkateswara temple, responsible for the tragedy.

Complaints by the devotees ranged from long waiting hours to get tickets for Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam to sudden opening of the gates that prompted the crowd to surge ahead.

"For five minutes we thought all of us were dead. I have been coming to the temple for the past 25 years and it has never happened like this," D Venkata Lakshmi told a vernacular news channel on Wednesday night.

She said six boys pulled her aside and gave some water to drink.

According to Lakshmi, people rushed forward and up to 10 people fell down where she was standing.

"Though I was raising a hue and cry that I was falling on the side, people were still rushing from behind and could not be controlled. I don't know if they were pushing ahead, but the men were uncontrollable. People were walking over devotees. I could not even breathe for a long time," she said.

Further, had the police allowed devotees to proceed in an orderly way, this disaster could have been averted, she said and highlighted that people could not make sense of what was happening.

Another devotee said she came around 11 am on Wednesday and the gate was opened at 7 pm.

"One person told devotees not to rush and go in a line, but who will listen? Police were outside, not inside," she said.

A male devotee insisted the police were told about the presence of 5,000 devotees.

He claimed that police opened the gates suddenly, leading to the stampede.

Expressing shock and grief over the stampede, YSRCP chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and urged the government to ensure the best medical care for those injured.

He described the loss of lives as deeply saddening and called for immediate and urgent measures to restore order at the location.

In a party release, Reddy wished for the speedy recovery of the injured devotees undergoing treatment in hospitals.

Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Y S Sharmila held Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the official custodian of Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirupati, responsible for the stampede and called for an immediate probe into the incident.

She demanded the government come to the rescue of the bereaved family members.

Meanwhile, APCC vice president Kolanukonda Sivaji demanded the immediate resignation of TTD chairman B R Naidu, and sought Rs 50 lakh ex-gratia to the family members of the deceased persons. One member each of the affected families should be given a job in TTD, he demanded.

Meanwhile, a CPM leader said it is a known fact that lakhs of people descend on the temple around this time of the year and claimed that there were no advance arrangements.

"Everyday they (TTD) were discussing and it looked like something was being done, but by the time devotees came, it happened like this," said the CPM leader.

According to the Left leader, Vaikunta Ekadasi was not a new thing and there were also instances when devotees rushed and jostled but such a situation never occurred.

"The government is completely responsible for this. Due to the government's irresponsibility and the failure of the district administration this situation has arisen," he charged.

On Wednesday night, six devotees died and nearly 40 more were injured in the stampede at Bairagi Patteda near MGM School in Tirupati as hundreds of them jostled for tickets for Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam at Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple on Tirumala Hills.

Hundreds of devotees turned up from across the country for the 10-day Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam commencing from January 10.