Andhra CM may overhaul TTD admin in Tirupati stampede case

The Andhra Pradesh government plans to overhaul the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) administration in the wake of the latest stampede incident in Tirupati which resulted in the death of six devotees and injuries to 35 others, people familiar with the matter said.

Hours after the visit of chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu to the temple town on Thursday, the state government issued orders suspending Tirupati deputy superintendent of police Ramana Kumar and TTD goshala (cow shed) director Haranath Reddy, who were overseeing the crowd management at the darshan token distribution centres.

Similarly, Tirupati superintendent of police L Subbarayudu, TTD chief vigilance and security officer S Sridhar and joint executive officer M Gowthami were transferred for their negligence and they were asked to report to the general administration department without being given any posting.

A senior state government official familiar with the matter said TTD executive officer J Shyamala Rao and additional executive officer Venkayya Chowdary might also be shifted from their posts, soon after the completion of the ongoing Vaikuntha Dwara Darshan festivities on January 19.

“Both Shyamala Rao and Chowdary were cherry-picked by Naidu soon after coming to power in June 2019, to improve the conditions in Tirumala. It was Shyamala Rao, who was responsible for identifying the supply of adulterated ghee to Tirumala and getting it stopped. But the chief minister has felt that the executive officer had failed to take adequate precautions in making arrangements for Vaikuntha Dwara Darshan that led to the stampede,” the official said.

According to him, what angered Naidu was the way Shyamala Rao entered into a verbal duel with TTD chairman B R Naidu during the review meeting on the stampede incident at Tirupati. The TTD chairman accused the executive officer of ignoring him entirely in the decision-making process and not consulting him on critical matters like issuance of Vaikuntha Dwara Darshan tickets.

“During the meeting, Shyalama Rao strongly retaliated at the chairman and addressed him in singular terms. Naidu had to reprimand him for being discourteous towards the TTD chairman,” the official quoted above said.

In fact, deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan, who tendered public apology to the families of stampede victims, demanded a similar apology from B R Naidu, Shyamala Rao and Venkayya Chowdary. He castigated the TTD management for its poor management and lack of accountability.

The TTD chairman, however, said a tendering apology to the families of stampede victims hardly mattered. “It was an accident due to some mistakes committed by some officials. Just because someone has asked for it, there is no point in tendering an apology. It doesn’t bring back the lives of the deceased,” Naidu added.

On Friday, the TTD trust board chaired by BR Naidu held an emergency meeting at Annamayya Bhavan in Tirumala and adopted a resolution expressing condolences over the death of pilgrims in the stampede.

“The board also resolved that all members would personally visit the families of the deceased on Saturday and hand over the cheques of ?25 lakh each to them. It was also decided to give a job to one eligible member from each of families of the deceased in the TTD on contract basis,” Naidu told reporters after the meeting.

The TTD chairman also indicated that those who were responsible for the stampede would face action. “The government has already initiated a judicial inquiry into the tragic incident and the TTD board would take corrective measures accordingly,” he said.