Nellore: Boulders fell on the Tirumala second ghat road on Wednesday, the second time in two days, raising concerns over the safety of thousands of pilgrims who take the route to Tirumala everyday.
TTD officials diverted traffic to the first ghat road through a link road after the rock fall.
Former IIT professor S. Narasimha Rao, a honorary consultant with the TTD, attributed the rock fall to chemical and physical weathering.
The hills beside the ghat road are almost vertical, which adds to the risk.
Speaking to this newspaper, Prof. Rao also pointed to a possible threat from some overhanging rocks at the 8th mile on the second ghat road.
Compared to second ghat road, the rock formations are very strong on the first ghat road, he said.
He said the Tirumala ghat roads are safer than roads in North India and the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu where landslides are common.
