One of India’s richest shrines has apologized after a lover that left six people dead and dozens injured.
After thousands of people gathered at the Tirupati church in the southeastern Andhra Pradesh status for tickets to a particular event, the panic broke out on Wednesday night.
People were reportedly yelling at church government as the cards were being distributed at registers set up.
State officials have stated that church employees who are held accountable for the tragedy may be subject to strict punishment.
BR Naidu, president of the monument’s believe, said that the love was caused by “overcrowding”.
” It is an unlucky incident”, he told local media on Wednesday.
Bhanu Prakash Reddy, a committee member of the faith, apologised for the event.
” To deliver currencies, we opened 91 bars… it is unlucky that the panic happened”, he said. ” This has never occurred in the temple’s history. I honestly seek an explanation from the followers”.
N Chandrababu Naidu, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, is scheduled to visit the temple after on Thursday, and he expressed his grief over the event.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his “pained” by the tragedy and promised to assist those affected by the state government in any way.
The Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh is one of Hinduism’s most divine temples. The church, which is dedicated to the Hindu heaven Sri Venkateswara and is also known as Balaji, has tens of billions of dollars worth of assets.
Every month, it draws roughly 24 million followers from India and abroad.
Due to the belief that devotees can see the divine gates of heaven, the 10-day Vaikuntha Dwara Darshan is regarded as a very auspicious event.
Every season, there are a million people attending the event, some even counting two to three million on certain nights.
On Wednesday, dozens gathered to get reservations for the event- which begins on 10 January- at more than 90 bars set up by the church.
As the gates for the counters opened, thousands of people rushed towards the counters, leading to chaos, an eyewitness told the Times of India newspaper, adding that there were just four police personnel there.
According to several reports, the officers had a hard time controlling the crowd.
Officials say those injured in the lover were rushed to a government-run hospital for treatment.
Mishaps are frequently reported at religious gatherings in India because large masses gather in small spaces without any safety precautions.
Last year, more than 120 people were crushed to death at a religious event in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.