The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) trust board according permission to consider developing ‘Annamayya Margam’ (the trekking route used by the saint poet Annamacharya to reach the Tirumala hills nearly 630 years ago) into an 18-km motorable road from Kukkaladoddi, has triggered a debate among various sections.
Though it is hailed as ‘recognition’ of the ‘padayatra’ route taken by the people from Kadapa for nearly two decades, some feel that the decision could stir a hornet’s nest on various sensitive issues involving Tirumala.
Rajampet ex-MLA and Kadapa Zilla Parishad Chairman Akepati Amarnatha Reddy was successful in convincing the TTD board to give a thought over his fervent pleas made for 18 years. He cited historical evidences on Avvathala Gutta, Sukravaram Banda, Yerrigunthalu, Ethakaya Mandapam, Chavidi, Paruveta Mandapam, Papavinasanam and Gogarbha Theertham to buttress his claim over the existence of such a path in the past.
Picturesque route
“There are 20 konas (water falls/ponds) like Thumburukona, Vagetikona, Kalivetikona and Panasamana Kona. The picturesque route, when developed, will not only give a pleasing experience but also reduce the travel distance by 40 km for people visiting from Kadapa and northern areas,” he told The Hindu. He was the first to represent to Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy early in July to consider this project. “I told him his father the late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had supported the project,” he added.
However, Rayalaseema Porata Samithi convener and former Tirupati municipal councillor P. Naveen Kumar Reddy urged the TTD to first weigh its pros and cons. “The temple city developed over centuries by depending on pilgrims. The third road will take away their livelihood sources,” he cautioned. He also hinted at the inherent risk in opening an ‘insecure’ path to the red sanders-rich Seshachalam forest. “We cannot simply go for a third option just because of landslides witnessed on the existing roads,” he opined.
CPI(M) district secretary V. Nagaraju also faulted the TTD for giving administrative sanction to a project without even discussing its fallout, recalling that YSR had to shelve the same bucking to criticism.
