For the third consecutive day on Saturday, the hill temple of Lord Venkateswara reeled under the impact of heavy crowds.
The surge in the pilgrim crowds was so intense that the waiting time for those in Sarva darshan queue shot up to 48 hours.
The darshan lines stretched to over four km on to the road outside the Vaikuntam complex as tens of thousands of devotees, particularly from neighboring Tamil Nadu, flocked the town for darshan of the deity.
Speaking to The Hindu, TTD Executive officer A.V. Dharma Reddy, who personally monitored the arrangements, attributed the rush to the third Saturday of Tamil ‘Peratasi’ month.
With there being no respite in the surging public, coupled with the fear of wild animals, the TTD had stopped the devotees from joining the queue the previous night, and instead accommodated them at its Pilgrim Amenities Complex as the queue passed through the forest area.
It was only after the break of dawn that they were again allowed to join darshan lines.
Meanwhile, Tirupati MLA B. Karunakar Reddy reached Tirumala in the morning and lent a helping hand to the Srivari Seva volunteers in the distribution of food and drinking water.
He also extolled the initiatives of the TTD and appealed to the pilgrims to cooperate with the temple administration.
The TTD ‘annadanam’ personnel had a tough time catering to the needs of the pilgrims and ensuring them an uninterrupted supply of food and buttermilk, and milk to infants.
The officials were subjected to anxious moments as the sky remained overcast in the afternoon, but heaved a sigh of relief after it ended up with light drizzle.
The TTD vigilance and security staff, health, engineering and police also engaged themselves in meeting the requirements of the devout.
