Chakravarthy Acharyulu Mourns The Loss of Tirumali Devotees in the Stampede

Gadwal: Chakravathy Acharyulu, the President of Dhupa Deepa Naivedyam Society for Jogulamba Gadwal District, K. Satyanarayana, expressed deep agony regarding the brutal incident which took place on Wednesdays at Tirumala during the stampede in which devotees of the temple lost their lives. In my opinion the situation is disheartening, he has expressed his deepest sympathies for the grieving families.

The acharyulu raised concern regarding the poor facilities which are presently in place for the devotees and pilgrims who wish to visit the residence of Lord Venkateswara, also known as Tirumala. He lambasted the officials for their lack of decisive actions in the event of a readymade traffic jam due to thousands and thousands of devotees gathered for Vaikunta Ekadashi and Sankranti holidays. He pointed out ignoring such situations not only demonstrates the poor planning of the officials but also endangers millions of the devotees who travel from different corners of the world just to get a look at Lord Venkateswara.

Acharyulu emphasized this as an instance where neither the temple staff nor the temple administration took initiative to prepare for disciples arriving for the event. Acharyulu encouraged the Chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) to ensure that a similar mistake would never be made. He answered to his critics by saying safety measures should be geared up immediately and also strong facilities should be established for the pilgrims.

The words of Acharyulu are more or less the same as those expressed by a multitude of devotees who consider Tirumala as a place of worship. This particular incident is an eye opener for the concerned authorities who need to act fast and ensure the safety of devotees embarking on a pilgrimage.