TTD gears up to face cyclone 'Thane'

With cyclone Thane ringing the alarm bells in pilgrim district of Chittoor ahead of the New Year rush, the temple management of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has geared up to face the eventuality.

TTD executive officer L V Subramanyam convened a high level emergency meeting at camp office at Tirupati on Thursday evening to assess the situation.

He directed deployment of special monitoring teams round the clock in Tirupati town, along the ghat roads and two-feet pathways, besides atop Tirumala hills to ensure pilgrims are not put to any sort of inconvenience.

Weather forecast

As the meteorology department forecast 25 cm incessant rain combined with cyclonic winds in Chittoor district on December 30 and 31, the EO said the monitoring teams would be provided with wireless sets to give hour by hour situation report from their respective stations.

If the cyclone intensifies, keeping pilgrim safety in mind, the EO has directed the officials to close the ghat roads and foot routes as there are chances of boulders rolling down the hillsides on to the ghat section.

The EO has also directed that pilgrims stranded at Tirumala may be sheltered during these two days at Asthana Mandapam, CRO, Old Annaprasadam complex, choultries and Vasantha Mandapam.

In Tirupati town, pilgrims will be provided shelter in Srinivasam, Vishnu Nivasam and wedding halls located close to railway and bus stations.

The EO directed the Annaprasadam officials to provide food and milk to the pilgrims at these venues. The engineering officials have been told to ensure uninterrupted power supply.

For vehicles stranded at Alipiri, the EO asked the officials to create temporary parking facility in Bhavans school.

Likewise, these pilgrims will be provided shelter in Bhavans schools, Vedic University and Sculpture building in case of emergency. The medical and health department have been charged with the task of keeping emergency kits, medicines and ambulances ready, besides the upkeep of toilets.