Holiday rush at Tirumala

Tirupati: Tirumala reeled under the holiday rush as thousands of devotees made their way to Tirupati for darshan.  Pilgrims had to wait in serpentine queues right from Alipiri.

Many were hard pressed to find accommodation and the central reception office, Padmavathi guest house inquiry office and others were crowded with devotees.

Meanwhile, as devotees continued to pour into the hill shrine all through the day, waiting time for darshan touched 24 hours on Thursday.

According to TTD sources, it took around 24 hours for devotees to have a darshan under the “Sarvadarshan” mode. Meanwhile, devotees opting for “Divyadarshan” took 12 hours.

The only respite was for devotees who booked the Rs 300 special entry tickets online or through e-Darshan counters and post offices.

Darshan for these devotee only took 2 hours. TTD officials believe that the pilgrim rush will continue till January 2, 2015, and are closely monitoring the pilgrim-services situation.