On Thursday, Tirumala, Lord Venkateswara's residence, was slammed by a major flood on a never-before-seen magnitude, stranding hundreds of pilgrims even as a torrential downpour caused by a depression in the Bay of Bengal pelted the religious town of Tirupati and several portions of Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district.
The four 'maada alleys' surrounding the main temple atop Tirumala Hills, as well as the Vaikuntham queue complex, remained submerged (cellar). Because pilgrims were unable to venture out due to the flooding, Darshan of the God was effectively halted.
