Tirumala, September 29, 2013: The Tirumala temple of Lord Venkateswara on Saturday experienced an unprecedented turnout of pilgrims.The turnout in the crowd was so sudden and heavy that the waiting time for the darshan of the presiding deity for the devotees in dharma darshan queue lines exceeded 30 hours.

Likewise, devotees opting for the Divya darshan tokens which are issued half-way on the Tirumala footpath, was a staggering 15 hours arduous wait.

Perturbed at the long waiting hours, the temple administration repeatedly appealed to the devotees through its broadcasting network to make use of the ‘access’ cards at the Vaikuntam queue complex which enables them to leave the queue and report back at the complex at the appropriate time as mentioned on the card.

According to information available till evening it is estimated that over 25,000 pilgrims reached Tirumala on foot.

Meanwhile, the temple authorities attributed the sudden surge in the crowd to the second Saturday in the month of Peratasi – to which people from Tamil Nadu attach great importance. On the other hand the Rayalseema IG Rajiv Ratan carried out inspections at various vantage points atop the hill town and supervised the arrangements being made for the annual Brahmotsavams.

Source: The Hindu, September 29, 2013