Tirupati, (Andhra Pradesh) Jan 2 (PTI): A 23-km-stretch of the third ghat road and also a third stairway leading to the Tirumala Hills, the ancient abode of Lord Venkateswara, would be built at the earliest, said a top functionary of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) that governs the shrine.

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TTD Board Chairman YV Subba Reddy on Sunday directed the engineering section of TTD to prepare a detailed project report and invite tenders for the new road and stairway, a press release from the devasthanams said.

The proposed stairway to be called Annamiah Margam would be useful for the devotees coming on foot from Kadapa district and Hyderabad, the release said.

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As per the direction of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy, the new routes would be developed, said the release quoting Subba Reddy as saying.

Tirumala Hills already has two ghat roads - one to go up the hills and the other down. The hills has two stairways -- one from Alipiri in Tirupati from where a millennium ago Saint Sri Ramanuja Charya trekked the hills on his knees and the other stairway from Srivari Mettu located on the western side of the Hills from where Krishnadevaraya, an emperor of Vijayanagara Kingdom, had trekked the Hills by foot many a time to offer worship.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)