Tirupati News: A massive fire broke out at the laddu distribution counter of the Lord Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala on Monday afternoon. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) administration promptly initiated firefighting efforts to control the blaze. The incident occurred during the ongoing 10-day Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam, which has been drawing hundreds of devotees daily from across the country.  






This fire follows a stampede incident at the temple, which occurred last Wednesday.





The stampede at Bairagi Patteda near MGM School and Vishnu Nivasam counters in Tirupati claimed six lives and left nearly 40 injured. The incident happened as devotees jostled for tickets to attend the Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam, which began on 10 January.  


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Tirupati Stampede: TTD Chairman Gives Cheques To Injured Devotees


TTD chairman BR Naidu, on Saturday, visited some of the injured individuals at the Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS) super-speciality hospital. Naidu handed over financial aid cheques to the victims, news agency PTI reported. According to a TTD press release, critically injured devotees Timmakka from Annamaiah district and Eswaramma from Vizag received cheques of Rs 5 lakh each.  


The TTD board had earlier announced an ex gratia sum of Rs 25 lakh for the families of the deceased and financial aid ranging from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for those injured. Following a TTD board meeting on Saturday, two committees were formed to personally distribute the ex gratia cheques to the families of the six deceased victims. The committees will also assess the educational and job needs of the families to explore providing free education in TTD institutions and contract jobs to eligible kin.