Tirumala sees huge crowds for darshan amid Diwali festival

Anantapur:Huge crowds of devotees were witnessed at Tirumala for darshan of Lord Venkateswara Swamy on Saturday, coinciding with the weekend holidays and Diwali celebrations. Although the rush was less on the day of Narala Chaturdasi and Amavasya, reportedly due to the Diwali festivities at home, large crowds were observed on Saturday for the darshan of the Lord.

“We had darshan of the Lord within an hour on Thursday night by reaching Alipiri metlu and offered camphor at every step by our group,” said Gangadhar, a devotee from Anantapur. However, the crowds on Saturday were substantial, with all compartments of the Vaikuntam queue complex packed with devotees, and queue lines stretching towards Silathoranam. Sources indicated that devotees seeking sarvadarshanam had to wait for 20 to 24 hours due to the overwhelming number of visitors from various states.

In light of the heavy rush, the TTD authorities were making necessary arrangements, supplying food, milk, and water to devotees in the queue lines. TTD sources reported that volunteers were deployed to distribute essential supplies in the queue.

The Tirumala traffic wing, along with TTD vigilance and local police, was actively monitoring traffic flow into Tirumala from Tirupati.