TTD ensures stress-free bus service for pilgrims

Tirupati: The alternative arrangements made by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) to avoid inconvenience to pilgrims due to Samaikyandhra JAC’s 48-hour bandh call continued on Thursday. The TTD authorities pressed more buses into service to ferry the pilgrims from Railway Station to Alipiri link bus stand. Speaking to ‘The Hans India’, General Manger of TTD’s Transport wing Sesha Reddy said that they could transport 40,000 people to Alipiri link bus stand in 10 buses, which made 480 trips, on Wednesday.

Within four hours, they could operate more than 140 trips for taking 10,000 of pilgrims to Alipiri link bus stand, he explained.

Regional Manager of APSRTC Maheswara said that though the frequency of RTC buses at Alipiri link bus stand was minimal, the staff succeeded in ferrying pilgrims to Tirumala hills safely. Explaining about bus services he said, within six hours, buses from Tirumala depot made 172 trips to transport about 9,000 pilgrims.

As five trains reached Tirupati station within two hours duration, the TTD’s free buses could not meet the demand and large number of pilgrims waited for more than an hour for a bus, he added TTD authorities also provided food, drinking water and milk to the pilgrims at different points. As devotees rush was more on Thursday, they had to wait in long queues at Alipiri link bus station to buy tickets. Some passengers opine that if the TTD continue the same efforts till the end of Samaikyandhra agitations, they would not face much difficulty for visiting the hill shrine.