Tirumala, August 11, 2013: The temple town of Lord Venkateswara is bustling with people thanks to the three-day holiday that came in a row this weekend.

Unmindful of the ongoing agitations in the State, devotees from different parts of the country converged atop the sacred town for the darshan of the presiding deity.

It was nonetheless an excruciating experience for the authorities of the TTD who were in rather pensive mood with anti-bifurcation agitations rocking the region since the beginning of the month. While it took a staggering 33 hours for devotees waiting in the Sarva darshan queues lines to take darshan, it was a 19-hour wait for those who preferred Divya darshan. To bring things under control, the management prohibited devotees from joining the Rs.300/- special entry darshan lines since 11.00 a.m. in the morning as they stretched out beyond three to four kilometres outside the Vaikuntam queue complex spiralling around the thoroughfares of the temple town. The move was coupled with the cancelling of the VIP break darshan on Sunday morning. The worst-hit amongst all was the accommodation wing. With there being no progressive vacancies in the cottages, devotees were forced to wait for long hours. Meanwhile, the caretakers of various guest houses in the plush Padmavathi guest house area leased out suites which they usually keep blocked.

With the devotees being subjected to arduous waiting be it for the darshan, accommodation or at Kalyanakatta, the Tirumala-based Joint Executive Officer K.S. Srinivasa Raju, who personally supervised the arrangements, ensured supply of free food packets, water and buttermilk sachets to all the devotees in the waiting lines. He also directed the authorities to provide free food to all the devotees till midnight at the TTD’s Nitya Annadanam complex.

Source: The Hindu, DT. August 11, 2013.