TIRUPATI: All routes, including the twin ghat roads and two footpaths leading to the hill town of Tirumala, have remained closed following heavy rains that triggered landslides, leading to boulders rolling down at several places.
In a press release on Thursday, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) underlined that all routes to Tirumala, including roads and both footpaths – Alipiri and Srivari Mettu – that had been closed during last two days in view of heavy rains, will remain closed on Friday too due to inclement weather conditions.
TTD said it will notify reopening of ghat roads and pedestrian routes after the situation comes under control.
Due to incessant rains since Wednesday night, pilgrims atop the hill town and at Tirupati city have remained stranded. Rainwater has flooded the Disaster Recovery Centre beside Arjitham office, leading to the complete shutdown of servers and networking equipment.
Sources said rainwater has also inundated Vaikuntham queue complexes at a few places. The four mada streets also got waterlogged several times in the day. But the rainwater receded quickly every time, thanks to advanced water draining system.
At least two rooms have been damaged in Narayanagiri guest house following landslide from the hill on its backside. The rooms were unoccupied at the time of incident.
Business activity atop the hill came to a complete standstill, as pilgrims chose to remain inside their guest houses due to heavy rain.
Meanwhile, the Kapilatheertham is in torrent, forcing TTD to prevent entry of pilgrims. Three of the Kapileswara Swamy temple pillars have been damaged. TTD JEO Veerabrahmam inspected the temple and instructed officials to restore the pillars immediately.
Later, Veerabrahmam also inspected Srinivasam Rest House and interacted with devotees who have been stranded due to closure of both ghat roads as well footpaths. He instructed officials to provide Annaprasadam to the stranded pilgrims in the rest house itself.
TTD has announced that those who have booked darshan tickets for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but have been unable to reach Tirumala; can have their darshan later.
