Devotees throng Srikalahasti, Kanipakam temples

Srikalahasti Temple Srikalahasti Temple

Posted by AI on 2025-01-09 22:13:48 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-05-05 16:25:49

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Even after the reopening of schools, the weekend pilgrim rush continues unabated in various temples across the district. Besides the world-famous Tirumala temple, where darshan times have extended to about 30 hours, other major temples like Kanipakam Varasiddi Vinayaka Devasthanam and Srikalahasteeswara Devasthanam also saw large crowds of devotees over the weekend. It is estimated that more than 80,000 people visited the Srivari temple at Tirumala on Saturday, with queue lines stretching outside to Nandakam guest house on Sunday. Many Tirumala pilgrims also visited the other two major temples in Kanipakam and Srikalahasti, where around 30,000 devotees gathered. These devotees had to wait for more than three hours in the queue lines to get darshan of the presiding deities. The heavy influx of passengers also overcrowded the Tirupati railway station and bus stand, with people scrambling for seats on buses and in unreserved train compartments. With ongoing development works at the railway station, passengers experienced significant inconvenience due to congestion.

To ensure a smooth darshan experience, the temple managements in both Kanipakam and Srikalahasti made elaborate arrangements for the devotees, including providing Anna Prasadam and drinking water in the queue lines. Since the trust boards resigned following the change in the state government, temple officials have been closely monitoring the arrangements. In Srikalahasti, 5,533 devotees performed the popular Rahu Kethu pujas, with 3,153 purchasing Rs 500 tickets, 1,515 opting for Rs 750 tickets, 453 for Rs 1,500 tickets, 333 for Rs 2,500 tickets, and 79 for Rs 5,000 tickets. Additionally, 2,990 devotees bought Seeghra Darshan tickets, while 4,385 purchased special entrance tickets. By 6 pm, over 26,000 devotees had worshipped Lord Srikalahasteeswara and Goddess Gnana Prasunambika, though long queues continued to form throughout the day.

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