Tirumala: Lord Venkateswara’s hill shrine is witnessing an unprecedented surge of devotees, with Sarva Darshan waiting time stretching up to 30 hours. The heavy rush comes amid a series of holidays, prompting thousands of pilgrims from across the country to flock to Tirumala for Srivari darshan.
Long Queues Across Tirumala
The Vaikuntham Queue Complexes and Narayangiri sheds are completely packed with devotees. The queue lines have extended up to the Silathoranam area, reflecting the intensity of the crowd. Despite the pressure, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has ensured smooth arrangements. Srivari Sevaks are continuously distributing drinking water, milk, tea, and annaprasadam to pilgrims waiting in the queues.
TTD officials are closely monitoring the situation round the clock. With all queue lines full, authorities have requested devotees staying at the pilgrim accommodation complexes to enter the Sarva Darshan queues on Friday morning to avoid inconvenience.
Darshan and Hundi Collection Details
On Wednesday alone, 73,524 devotees had darshan of Lord Venkateswara. The temple recorded ₹4.88 crore in hundi collections, reflecting the massive turnout. Meanwhile, demand for accommodation remains high. As rooms are fully booked, many devotees are resting in pilgrim sheds and common shelters set up near the temple and other locations in Tirumala.
Officials expect the rush to continue for the next few days due to ongoing holiday travel.
Token Rush and Traffic at Alipiri
At the Alipiri Bhudevi Complex, a large crowd gathered for Sarva Darshan (SSD) tokens. As the daily quota was exhausted quickly, devotees rushed toward the counters, prompting police and TTD security staff to step in and control the situation. Officials announced the closure of token issuance, after which devotees proceeded toward Tirumala.
Additionally, vehicular traffic increased sharply at the Alipiri check post, as many pilgrims arrived in private vehicles. Security checks caused brief delays, leading to long queues of vehicles up to the Alipiri entrance. Authorities are regulating traffic to ensure safety and smooth movement.
TTD has urged devotees to plan their visit carefully and cooperate with officials during this peak rush period.
