Left Alone In Old Age Along Alipiri Footpaths To Tirumala
The elderly survive mainly on food offered by devotees
TIRUPATI: On the busy footpaths leading to Alipiri, over which thousands of devotees walk every day on their way to Tirumala, hundreds of elderly men and women are spending their final days without shelter or family support. With no homes to return to and no one to care for them, they live on the pavements, surviving mainly on food offered by the compassionate among devotees and passers-by.
Among these dwellers are some abandoned by their families, while others have come on their own, hoping to spend their last days near the sacred hills of Lord Venkateswara. With no roof over their heads and no regular care, daily survival has become a struggle for them.
Despite Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) offering free meals to pilgrims every day, these elderly people remain unnoticed, though their suffering is visible. Support for them is rare. Municipal Corporation of Tirupati (MCT) is responsible for night shelters and public welfare. But it has failed to address the issue of the growing elderly destitute living on the streets.
Seventy-two-year-old Lakshmanna, who stays near Garuda Circle, said his son left him at a hospital and never returned. “After I recovered, I did not know where to go. Now I live here. Devotees sometimes give me food and that is how I survive,” he said.
His story is not an isolated one. According to estimates nearly 30 to 40 destitute people die every month in Alipiri, Tirupati and Tiruchanur areas due to illness, neglect and loneliness. Some of them die on the pavements. Civic authorities later shift their bodies.
Sixty-five-year-old Ramaswamy said he left home after disputes with his sons following his wife’s death. “My sons started fighting over property. They told me I am a burden for them. I came here to live along the path to Swami. It gives me peace. But sleeping on the cold ground every night is not easy,” he observed.
Social workers say this is a growing tragedy. Many families are abandoning aged parents. Some elderly people come to Tirupati by choice, hoping to breathe their last at the foothills of Lord Venkateswara. But soon realise there is no one caring for them.
Tirupati currently has only two night shelters. They are insufficient to accommodate the hundreds of homeless elderly living across the city. Social workers suggest more shelters should be built, whether by MCT or TTD or both. This could provide the elderly basic shelter and dignity in their final days.