Tirumala ghat road closed again following landslides

Tirupati, Dec 1 (IANS) A ghat road leading to famous Sri Venkateswara temple atop Tirumala hills was shut down on Wednesday after landslides damaged the road at three places, officials said.

Huge boulders rolled on to the road late Tuesday night damaging the vital link and bringing the movement of vehicular traffic to a halt.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) officials swung into action to stop the vehicles and deployed earth movers to clear the debris. The officials were surveying the damage and were working out plans to take up repairs.

All vehicles on the up road were stopped in view of the damage to the roads. As an alternative, the vehicles were being allowed in batches through the down ghat road.

This is the second time in less than a month that ghat road witnessed landslides. Following heavy rains that triggered landslides, the ghat roads were closed on November 11 and were reopened only on November 20.

The heavy downpour and gusty winds had resulted in boulders rolling down on ghat roads. Trees also uprooted and fell on the roads that connect the famous hill shrine with Tirupati.

Protection wall on the first ghat road was damaged due to landslides at four places while there were 13 landslides on the second ghat road.

The heavy rains had also damaged both footpaths (Alipiri and Srivari Mettu), forcing the authorities to close them.

The rains had also led to inundation of Vaikuntham queue complexes and four mada streets.

According to the TTD chairman, TTD suffered damages of about Rs 4 crore. Tirumala and Tirupati recorded 19 cm rainfall from November 17 to 19, the highest in over 30 years.