The Sri Venkateswara temple atop Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district was closed for devotees on Friday, 19 November, following unprecedented heavy rainfall in the temple town.
The temple is surrounded by seven hills. As the temple is located on the peak of the seventh hill, Venkatadri, the rainwater flowed directly into the holy shrine. The rainwater has flooded the temple premises forcing authorities to pump out the water.
Speaking to TNM, YV Subba Reddy, Chairman of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), said, “There was a lot of water inside the temple last night, but we pumped it out. Things are better now. We have informed the devotees that the temple will remain closed due to the present circumstances.”
“Besides, all ghat roads are closed due to boulders falling on the roads,” he added.
Under the influence of the heavy rains which has resulted in flooding, landslides have also been reported at a few places on the ghat roads, halting the traffic. The TTD had already announced the closure of ghat roads for two days.
Due to the heavy rainfall in the district, the city of Tirupati particularly has been severely affected. Electricity supply was disrupted since 3 pm on Thursday. Several roads were inundated with rainwater, practically resembling a raging river. Videos of vehicles being submerged and being washed away have been shared by journalists.
The highway connecting Tirupati-Kadapa district also has been cut off due to the flooding.
On Thursday, the Alipiri footpath to Tirumala temple was flooded with water gushing down from the hills. The TTD, which manages the affairs of the holy shrine, had already announced closure of Alipiri and Srivarimettlu for two days in view of heavy rains forecast. The rains also affected the Vaikuntam Queue complex at Tirumala. Water entered into the cellar of the complex. The house of TTD Additional Executive Dharma Reddy was also inundated.
The heavy rains are a result of the low pressure area in the Bay of Bengal intensifying into a depression. Heavy rains had been predicted in the city owing to this, and the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) had earlier shut two pedestrian routes to the Venkateswara temple in Tirumala for two days (17 and 18 November) in view of the heavy rain alert.
(Published in an arrangement with The News Minute.)
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