TIRUMALA: A huge influx of devotees made a beeline at the Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala on Saturday. Witnessed after a long time, the pilgrim rush has been attributed to the long weekend and the Purattasi Saturday. According to conservative estimates, around 1.3 lakh pilgrims began queuing up in Tirumala on Friday evening itself.
The queue of pilgrims stretched up to Gograbham Dam which is about 3.5 km from the entrance of the Vaikuntam Queue Complex leading to the temple. In view of the heavy rush, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) made elaborate arrangements to ensure people had a comfortable darshan.
The rush is expected to continue on Sunday and Monday as well on account of Gandhi Jayanti.
According to TTD officials, 15,000 tokens were issued at Alipiri and 4,000 at Srivari Mettu for free darshan. TTD officials suspended the issuance of free darshan tokens at Tirupati for October 1, 7, 8, 14 and 15.