Weekend rush and incessant rain add to pilgrims' woes in Tirupati
The Saturday and Sunday came in quick succession after Independence Day, making several take up unplanned visit to the temple city.
Even as the Tirumala temple was bursting at its seams, the Tirupati railway station and the APSRTC central bus station offered no respite to the commuting public.
The 'Srinivasam' and 'Vishnu Nivasam' pilgrim accommodation complexes, situated opposite the APSRTC complex and railway station respectively, virtually choked with vehicles with the inward and outward movement of pilgrims.
The rain added to the chaos by creating slush pools and potholes, thus making the traffic turn further sluggish. The intermittent and irregular rainfall pattern also caught many passengers off guard.
There was a heavy demand for seats in the private buses travelling towards Hyderabad and Bengaluru in view of the long weekend.

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