Title - TTD to construct subway, FOB in Tirupati

N Viswanath

Tirupati: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is prepared to construct a subway near RTC bus stand and a foot over bridge at railway station.

Engineers are chalking out plans to begin the construction work by February end. The officials have fixed the deadline to complete these two works within six months and the list of construction companies through e-tender process has already been finalized.

According to a TTD senior engineer, TTD will be spending about Rs 95 lakhs for the subway, which will be 45 meters in length and 7 meters in width.

The subway will start from the entry point of RTC bus stand and will end at the private bus stand that is on the other side of the existing Tirumala bypass road.

A subway connecting RTC bus terminus with Srinivasam Pilgrim Cottage Complex maintained by TTD is coming up beneath Tirumala bypass road. The engineers identified the place for the subway and reviewed the diversion of vehicular traffic.

In this backdrop, Tirupati Urban SP SV Rajasekhara Babu, TTD Chief Vigilance and Security Officer GVG Ashok, Superintending Engineer Sudhakar and few others reviewed the necessary arrangements to be taken up before commencing the civil works. Urban SP and traffic Deputy SP P Sankar assessed the alternate steps to divert the traffic while civil construction works are going on. Initially, the police officials opined that an approach road has to be laid through the private bus stand, where plenty of space is available to allow the vehicles when the subway is under construction. As many as about 70,000 pilgrims will come to Tirupati and Tirumala every day through buses, trains and personal vehicles.

The heavy vehicular traffic on Tirumala bypass road is becoming problematic for the pilgrims or local people to cross the road to reach Srinivasam Complex. Once the construction of the subway is completed, a separate foot path would be laid to enter the Srinivasam building.