Pall of gloom descends on family of devotees who died in Tirupati stampede

Of the six people who died at a Vaikunta Dwara Darshan token counter in Tirupati, three women hailed from Visakhpatnam and one man from Anakapalli

A pall of gloom descended upon the families of the devotees hailing from Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli districts, who died in a stampede at a Vaikunta Dwara Darshan token counter at Tirupati.

Of the six people who died in the stampede, three women were from Visakhapatnam district while one man hailed from Anakapalli district.

The deceased have been identified as S. Lavanya (38) from Thatichetlapalem; K. Santhi (33) of Indira Nagar, Kancharapalem; G. Rajini (47) from Maddilapalem in Visakhapatnam city, and 55-year-old B. Naidu Babu from Peddaboddepalli of Narsipatnam in Anakapalli district.

Upon receiving the death news of K. Santhi, her relatives gathered at her house at Kancharapalem.

“Shanti’s husband Venkatesh is an auto-rickshaw driver. The couple and their son went to Tirumala darshan for Vaikunta Dwara Darshan. Shanthi was on the front in the queue line, while her husband and son were standing back. She was severely injured in the stampede,” one of her kin said.

The five-member family of Lavanya went to Tirupati for Vaikunat Dwara Darshan for the first time. “But it was not meant to be. Fate had it otherwise. Lavanya is survived by her two children aged 13 and 11 years,” one of her relatives said.

BJP MLA P. Vishnu Kumar Raju visited the bereaved family members of Lavanya and Shanthi on Thursday.

The family members of Naidu Babu at Narsipatnam were inconsolable after the local Jana Sena Party (JSP) leaders informed them about the death.

“I spoke to Naidu Babu just a few days ago he left for Tirupati. I never thought that it would be our last conversation,” said Venkata Ramana Naidu, brother of Naidu Babu.

Naidu Babu’s wife Mani Kumari was injured in the stampede and is undergoing treatment at a hospital.

Mr. Ramana Naidu urged the government to provide employment to one of the family member.

Published - January 10, 2025 12:43 am IST