Massive Turnout on Mahalaya Amavasya at Tirupati’s Kapila Theertham

Fast Summary

• Devotees gathered in large numbers at Kapila Theertham waterfalls in Tirupati for “Mahalaya Amavasya” on September 21, 2025.
• The event involves sacred rituals to honor departed souls, traditionally performed near the temple’s tank or waterfall.
• An unexpected surge of devotees led to crowding and movement difficulties; security personnel were unprepared due to the non-temple-affiliated nature of the event.
• Lack of proper parking facilities caused haphazard vehicle arrangements, disrupting traffic flow near the site.
• Superintendent of Police L. Subbarayudu visited the site,dismissed social media rumor allegations about a stampede,and requested public restraint from spreading misinformation. Drones and additional manpower were used for crowd control.

Indian Opinion Analysis
The unexpected surge during “Mahalaya Amavasya” underscores an ongoing challenge for managing spontaneous or community-driven events in India’s religious sites were formal arrangements are absent. While TTD cited its non-involvement given it wasn’t a temple-related event, pilgrimage-heavy locations like Kapila Theertham require an adaptable protocol considering high devotional turnouts are both foreseeable and frequent.The absence of a dedicated parking area highlights infrastructural limitations that add stress not only to participants but also to local governance mechanisms coping with such situations under duress.Moving forward,collaboration between temple authorities and civic bodies is crucial for integrating flexible crowd management systems even beyond routinely planned events.Read more: Source