Summer Rush Chokes Tirumala, Pilgrims Wait 30 Hours
Traffic congestion added to the difficulties of pilgrims across Tirumala.
Tirupati: Heavy summer holiday rush has pushed Tirumala into one of its busiest phases, with pilgrims waiting for more than 30 hours for darshan of Lord Venkateswara by Thursday evening.
The rush, which began increasing last week, peaked on Sunday and continued unabated on Thursday. Devotees stood in serpentine queues stretching nearly 2-3 km under intense summer heat before entering the Vaikuntam Queue Complexes. Queue lines extended beyond the Outer Ring Road, forcing pilgrims to walk long distances. Elderly devotees, women and parents carrying children faced severe hardship amid the heavy rush.
Traffic congestion added to the difficulties in Tirumala, with devotees complaining of poor traffic regulation, roadside parking, shortage of traffic personnel and confusing one-way and no-entry diversions.
The stretch between the Saptagiri Bus Stand and the newly opened Venkatadri Nilayam witnessed severe traffic snarls due to simultaneous pedestrian and vehicular movement. Similar congestion was reported at Nandakam Circle, Rambhagicha Circle and the Lepakshi Bus Stand stretch, where several internal roads remained choked during peak hours.
The Vaikuntam Queue Complexes I and II, Narayanagiri and other holding points remained packed with devotees. Though Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) arranged drinking water, Annaprasadam and other amenities through Srivari Sevaks, the prolonged waiting time continued to test pilgrims’ patience. Accommodation facilities and civic infrastructure in the temple town also came under heavy strain.
Meanwhile, TTD stepped up arrangements to provide relief to pilgrims waiting in long queues. Shade shelters were arranged from Batagangamma Circle to the Outer Ring Road, besides at VQC-2, the Museum premises and Narayanagiri Gardens. Temporary shelters, cool paint works and additional toilets were also arranged at key queue stretches and pilgrim movement areas.
TTD additional EO Ch. Venkaiah Chowdary reviewed the crowd situation at queue complexes and holding areas and monitored facilities being provided to devotees. In view of the heavy rush, TTD cancelled break darshans for all except protocol VIPs till July 15.
Temple officials said 86,315 devotees had darshan on Wednesday. By 6 pm on Thursday, nearly 60,000 devotees had darshan, while more than 20,000 pilgrims were still waiting in queues with all compartments filled to capacity.
TTD said 4,32,213 devotees had darshan during the last five days. The footfall stood at 90,011 on May 16, 91,020 on May 17, 80,455 on May 18, 84,412 on May 19 and 86,315 on May 20. Nearly 19 lakh pilgrims were served Annaprasadam, tea, coffee, milk and buttermilk during the period.