Tirupati Pilgrims Will Now Have To Carry A Wooden Stick. Here's Why | Read

Devotees making the difficult climb to the Tirumala Tirupati Balaji temple will now have to carry one extra thing - a stick to fight off wild animals. After a 6-year-old girl was killed by a leopard on the way to the temple last week, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams has put a range of measures in place to avoid a repeat. Pilgrims taking the pedestrian pathway to the temple will now have to go in batches of one hundred, accompanied by a security guard.