Telangana protests: Temple festivities, hotels in Tirupati bear brunt

The Venkateswara temple at Tirumala which observes an annual ‘Brahmotsavam’ during the Navratri festival, involving a twice-daily procession of the deity, has had an unexpected hindrance this year – the Samaikyandhra or united Andhra agitation that has picked up steam after the Union Cabinet decision last week. [caption id=“attachment_115693” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] An earlier protest against statehood for Telangana. AP[/caption] Over the weekend, it was reported on Friday that pilgrims to the hill-top temple in Tirupati were caught in the crossfire when buses were stopped by anti-Telangana agitators. The Deccan Chronicle reported that perhaps for the first time ever, the temple administration was unable to provide transportation arrangements for pilgrims, many forced to climb the hill with their luggage with roads closed temporarily. “With no mode of transport available, pilgrims had to walk almost 3 kilometers with heavy bags to reach Alipiri. With the ghat roads being closed, they had to walk up the hills. Food arrangements were made by the TTD for the devotees who reached Alipiri,” the report said. The power outage hit the temple town too, with the hotel industry worst affected, especially given that the Brahmotsavam is usually one of the peak pilgrim seasons. Occupancy rates have been disappointing and running the hotels without power supply was, for some, tougher than shutting down completely for the period of the agitation. The New Indian Express reported that not only was the latest spike in the agitations crippling – hotels earned only 20 percent of their regular revenue – but the two-month long shutdown has dealt a body blow too. Some hotels in the town that is almost entirely dependent on tourism “are almost on the verge of pulling down their shutters permanently”, the report said.