India - All Roads lead to Tirupati

TIRUPATI: All roads as well as railway tracks will lead to Tirupati on Tuesday as lakhs of fans and followers will descend on this temple town to take part in the public meeting of film-star-turned-politician Chiranjeevi.

Political aspirants as well as Chiranjeevi’s fan clubs have booked trains in advance for the star’s ‘mega’ meet. At least 18 trains special trains are scheduled to travel from various parts of the state towards Tirupati. Two trains each from Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Ongole and Secunderabad (via Kurnool) and one each from Warangal, Samarlakota, Anakapalli, Narsapur, Narsaraopet, Rajahmundry, Karimnagar, Nandyal, Guntur and Eluru will be reaching the station on Tuesday.

Similarly, the APSRTC alone is providing 1,450 buses for the event and, in the process, netting a whopping revenue of Rs.1.32 crore. While the major contributor is Nellore where 560 buses have been hired, the number of buses starting from other regions is Tirupati 400, Kadapa 220, Ongole 65, Anantapur 60, Kurnool 60 and Hyderabad 40. As many as 320 buses have started from Vijayawada and beyond.

"We have identified parking lots near Balaji Dairy and Gajalakshmi Towers on either side of the venue. A special information centre is also in place to help the visitors," APSRTC Regional Manager M.S. Prakasa Rao said.

The party organisers have arranged 60 buses to ferry the arriving party enthusiasts from Renigunta railway station to the venue, about 12 km away. Given the surging crowd, the organisers are contemplating to hire 400 more buses in the last minute, if the situation warrants.

Security blanket


Meanwhile, a security blanket has been thrown over the thoroughly-sterilised 160-acre Avilala Cheruvu, the venue of the maiden public meeting. The proceedings will be under the cover of 2,400 watchful pairs of eyes. The State police department has deployed 2,400 policemen, including 400 home guards, for the meet.