YSR Congress Party’s Kadapa district president and former Rajampet MLA Akepati Amarnatha Reddy has started his trek to Tirumala on ‘Annamayya Baata’, the route once taken by the saint-poet Tallapaka Annamacharya from his village Tallapaka to the abode of Lord Venkateswara.
Leading a group of over 1500 devotees, clad in traditional yellow robes as part of the vow, Mr. Reddy started his trek at his native Akepadu village on December 13, covering en route the Tallapaka village, where he prayed to the huge 108-foot tall statue of Annamacharya. The trek involves travelling on highway for nearly 75 km and trek on hilly terrain for around 15 km.
For a purpose
Tracing the highway route, the team reached the Kadapa-Chittoor inter-district border village of Kukkaladoddi, 25 km from Tirupati, for overnight stay. On Monday morning, the team will start their trek over the rocky areas of Seshachalam to reach Tirumala after passing through the ‘Theerthams’ (water bodies).
Mr. Amarnatha Reddy has been doing it for a decade and a half now to popularise the route traced by Tallapaka Annamacharya and also to bring pressure on the government to make the route officially accessible to the devotees from Kadapa and beyond. The team is expected to reach Tirumala around dusk on Monday.
