Tirumala rush pushes wait time to over 10 hours as holidays sparks mass pilgrimage

Tirupati: Heavy footfall at the Lord Venkateswara temple over the weekend pushed the wait time in queues to 10-12 hours on Saturday, with ongoing summer holidays pushing the pilgrim count to over 70,000 on Friday, according to temple officials.

The large queues also boosted the temple coffers, with temple officials recording donations of Rs 3.91 crore on Friday.

Officials said that the queues have gone beyond the Vaikuntam queue complex-II, stretching to around three kilometres further. The entry to the queues has been set at the Lepakshi circle.

Meanwhile, the heavy rush has also resulted in many being unable to find accommodations and resting in public places.

TTD executive officer A.V. Dharma Reddy and senior officials were spotted managing the queues and ensuring that devotees were supplied with food, water and other essentials.

Reddy told mediapersons that due to the rush, they had to suspend selected services, including putting VIP darshan on hold.