Heavy rush at Tirumala due to weekend holidays

Tirupati, Aug 12 (UNI) The Lord Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala here had been witnessing a heavy rush of devotees since yesterday due to weekend holidays.

To avoid inconvenience to the devotees waiting for free darshan, issuing of cellar tickets was being restricted, temple Deputy Executive Officer Prabhakar Reddy told UNI today.

Mr Reddy said about 60,000 devotees had offered worship on 'Sravani Pournima' day of yesterday. There was no shortage in laddus, the rush will be continued for further three days due to continuous holidays, he added.

More than 150 marriages were also held at Tirumala hills on the auspicious day of 'Sravana Pournima'.

If the rush continued to be increased, he said that there was no other way to impose the long distance darshan to avoid inconvenience to the free darshan holders. All steps had taken to clear long waiting time for pilgrims to have darshan, he said.

The rush was so heavy that the waiting time for the devotees buying Rs 50 special entry tickets was about 35 hrs, while that for free darshan stretched beyond 65 hrs, he said.

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