TTD announces compensation and educational support for families of stampede victims

Tirupati:The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams has announced humanitarian support to the families affected by the stampede at Tirupati’s Bairagipatteda and Vishnu Nivasam on January 8.

TTD chairman BR Naidu stated on Friday that ₹25 lakh will be provided as compensation to the families of each of the six deceased, ₹5 lakh to those with severe injuries and ₹2 lakh to those with minor injuries.

An emergency meeting was convened in Tirumala on Friday under the leadership of the chairman, with the participation of board members, TTD executive officer J Syamala Rao and additional EO Venkaiah Chowdary.

During the board meeting, the trustees finalised these decisions based on directives from chief minister Chandrababu Naidu.

The chairman stated that the compensation amounts would be personally handed over to the families by the board members. In addition, one member from each bereaved family will be offered a contract job. Free education will be extended to children from the affected families at TTD’s educational institutions.

TTD board members have come forward to extend their personal financial assistance as well. Vemireddy Prashanthi Reddy and Suchitra Ella have each pledged ₹10 lakh, while MS Raju has contributed ₹3 lakh to the affected families, the chairman has announced.

Acknowledging lapses in handling the token distribution process, the TTD chairman pledged stringent action against the errant staff. “We cannot bring back the lives lost, but we are committed to supporting the families in every possible way,” he said.

Naidu said corrective measures would be implemented to prevent such incidents in future. “The Vaikunta Dwara darshan tokens for the remaining seven days will be issued daily, and additional safeguards will be in place to streamline the process.”

In response to a query, the TTD chairman emphasized that there was no harm in offering an apology to the victims. “Immediately after the stampede incident, I apologised to the families of the deceased devotees via the media. However, just offering an apology will not bring back those who have lost their lives. A mistake has indeed occurred, and the inquiry will uncover the details of what went wrong. Once the findings are in, strict action will be taken against those found responsible,” he asserted.