Tirupati: With the celebration of Dasara and Peratasi (Tamil auspicious month) drawing to a close, the temple city of Tirupati and Tirumala shrine has been witnessing the arrival of a large number of pilgrim over the past two days. Pilgrims have been arriving from different parts of the country for darshan of Lord Venkateswara and other temples in and around Tirupati.
On Saturday, the railway stations and bus stations appeared to be filled to capacity with hardly any room for anyone to even stand despite the authorities' best efforts to ease public problem. The rush has been increasing since Friday at the stations. Following the increased rush at the railway stations, cost of platform ticket price have been doubled to Rs 20 from Rs 10. "I came here to receive my relatives coming from Hyderabad. I was charged Rs 20 instead of Rs 10. I questioned about the hike and was told that it was done to control the rush on the platforms at least to some extent," Mr. Murugesh Ponna, a native of Tirupati, said.
The central bus station in Tirupati and two stations in Tirumala had passengers either going to Tirumala or back home after the darshan. Though the corporation introduced additional buses to cope up with the rush, they could not cater to the thousands of passengers.
Meanwhile, taxi drivers and small eateries in Tirumala as well as those near the railway station and bus stand in Tirupati were happy as they were getting good business. Some of the eateries were charging exorbitant prices for poor food in the absence of proper checks.
"Most of the time, counters for pre-paid auto/taxis at the main entrance of the station did not have any personnel. There was no control over taxis who were charging to their will and arguing with us," Nagatejesh Penumatcha, a devotee from Vuyuru said.
The situation in the hill temple of Lord Venkateswara on Saturday wass no different. Much before, from the late hours on Friday both the Vaikuntam queue complexes were full to capacity and pilgrims were seen standing in the stretched queue lines and lined up for more than 4 km distance. TTD authorities have been supplying food and beverages to the pilgrims in the queue, the pilgrims were seen facing tough times, as the entry for Sarva darshan was narrowed and maintenance in the queue lines at few points irked the devotees.
The devotees who didn't get accommodation were seen resting on the footpaths and parks.
