Govt should probe how people died: Farooq Abdullah on Tirupati stampede

Govt must take steps to oversee arrangements at such places thronged by a large number of people and to ensure such incidents do not happen again, he added

A day after six people were killed at a stampede at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah underlined the importance of religion in India and said that arrangements should be in place at religious gatherings to prevent loss of lives.

"People go (to religious places) not to die but to pray for their safety, nation and family. The government should look into the way people were killed in the stampede. And take steps to oversee arrangements at such places thronged by a large number of people and to ensure such incidents do not happen again," he told reporters in Jammu.

"It is important as religion is considered of utmost importance in India," he remarked.

Meanwhile, six people were killed after a stampede broke out at Tirupati on Wednesday night during the ticket distribution. 40 others were also injured in the mishap.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has called a review meeting on Thursday. He is also due to meet the families of the deceased later in the day. Meanwhile, the offline tokens for darshan have been made available at various distribution centres set up in Tirupati.

Tirupati Collector S Venkateswar informed that adequate arrangements are in place ahead of the Vaikunth Ekadasi which gets underway on Friday. 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.

"...Elaborate arrangements have been made for Vaikunth Ekadasi this year by TTD and the District Administration. A sufficient number of Police personnel were deployed at all the ticket counters (9) in Tirupati and (1) in Tirumala. We kept holding areas as well. At this particular location, there was some miscommunication over the opening of the gate. An unfortunate incident occurred," Venkateswar told reporters here.

Meanwhile, the offline tokens for darshan have been made available at various distribution centres set up in Tirupati.