TIRUMALA: In a major logistical overhaul ahead of the Salakatla Brahmotsavams, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has announced a technology-driven crowd and traffic management strategy. For the first time, the temple administration will deploy a Central Command Control System and expand peripheral parking plazas to manage the pilgrim rush.
TTD Additional Executive Officer Ch Venkaiah Chowdary said, “To prevent stampedes, streamline queue lines, and handle unprecedented vehicular flow, we are establishing an apex Central Command Control System.”
As the Tirumala hills can accommodate limited number of vehicles at a time, the TTD, in coordination with the police department, is setting up a multi-layered parking grid.
Five new mega parking lots are being arranged in the plains, including a major facility at the Annamacharya Engineering College campus in Mangalam. These will supplement the five traditional parking zones operated by the TTD.
To intercept the influx of out-of-state and inter-district private vehicles before they enter the city centre, authorities are introducing three entry-point parking plazas. These include Kukkaladoddi for traffic arriving from Kadapa corridor, Renigunta for vehicles coming from Chennai side and Vakulamatha temple for traffic from the Bengaluru/Karnataka route.
The TTD said the remote transit points would function as holding zones for devotees waiting to proceed to Tirumala. “We are not merely using these spaces to stop vehicles; we are treating them as extended pilgrim reception hubs,” he said.