by reciprocal arrangement with Star of Mysore
- 3550 Steps, 9 kilometre Long March
- Kumaraswamy's trekking expedition to reach Tirupathi
Mysore, Jan 31: Chief Minister-designate H.D. Kumaraswamy became the first politician to climb the Tirumala Hill to reach Tirupathi shrine on foot before assuming office of the CM.
In a rare feat, Kumaraswamy climbed 3550 steps to trek 9 kms in the early hours of today to fulfill his vow.
Kumaraswamy and some of his MLAs reached Govindarajapatnam in Andhra Pradesh by road from Bangalore at around 11 pm last night. The authorities at Padmavathi Sadan guest house served Kharabhat, poori and other snacks to the troupe before they commenced their expedition.
Kumaraswamy began climbing the steps at around 12 midnight. He walked nearly three hours to reach the hill top at around 3 am this morning.
"Walking long stretches is not new to Kumaraswamy. He is young and energetic," he goes for long walks daily in the morning while in Bangalore," said MLC K.T. Srikantegowda.
Talking to Star of Mysore over phone from Tirupathi this morning Srikantegowda (known as Srikanta Koppa during his college days) said: "He did not look exhausted. He was normal and cheerful when he reached the hill top. He enjoyed the walk."
The steps in the beginning and at the end were very steep," he added.
MLAs Balakrishna, Dr. K. Annadani, B.C. Patil, Santhosh Lad, Iqbal Ansari and about 60 JD(S) leaders accompanied Kumaraswamy in the trekking.
G.T. Devegowda, D.T. Jayakumar, Sunitha Veerappagowda, Vijayalaxmi Bandisi-ddegowda, Parimala Nagappa, K.T. Srikantegowda and others travelled in buses and cars to the hill top.
Businessman O.V. Ramana and other temple authorities received Kumaraswamy when he arrived at the Hari Sadan guest house atop the hill, where he stayed overnight.
Kumaraswamy along with his wife and followers offered special puja to Lord Venkateshwara between 6 am and 7.15 am. They had breakfast at the residence of Ramana.
God's Intervention
Talking to media persons at Govindarajapatnam last night, Kumaraswamy said that he visits Tirupathi at least five times in a year as he was an ardent devotee of the Lord.