Puttaparthi, April 26: There were loud mutters among the devotees sweltering in the long queues along the streets of this pilgrim town: There was not a morsel of food to be had nor even a drop of water.
For the ultra cautious police had shut down all the shops and restaurants in town.
In their anxiety to ensure a smooth passage for the VIPs streaming into town for a last glimpse of the Sai Baba, the police had shut down the town.
These measures left the ordinary devotees in the lurch. Most of them had to trudge more than 3 km to reach Prasanthi Nilayam.
Though the AP Road Transport Corporation ran special buses to cater to the incoming commoners, the everyman vehicles were stopped at the Yanamalpalli intersection. Devotees had to get down and walk to Prasanthi Nilayam.
Along the way, there was no eatery or even a kiosk open for the unprepared pilgrim.
There was no water or food to buy. The police blocked all important roads in town to facilitate easy VIP movement.
When cricketer Sachin Tendulkar arrived here Monday morning, police made arrangements to smooth his path right from 7.30 am and took virtual control of the road from the airport to Prasanthi Nilayam road.
This caused great hardships of the common devotee.
After relentless complaints, minister Raghuveera Reddy appealed to shopkeepers to open their shops from Tuesday.
Seeing the plight of the common devotees some local people cooked food and supplied it free, providing the only solace of what has been a hard pilgrimage for many.
Throughout Monday, volunteers were hard at work erecting tents at Prasanthi Nilayam to accommodate VIP devotees during the funeral Wednesday.
But the thousands of devotees who will turn up in Puttaparthi on April 27 will have to spend their day out in the sweltering streets.
–Agencies