Pilgrim rush at Puttaparthi continues

ANANTAPUR: The pilgrim rush at Puttaparthi remained unabated on Saturday as devotees from various parts of the country and abroad continued to pour in for the darshan of the ‘Mahasamadhi’ of Sathya Sai Baba that was   unveiled on the Guru Poornima day on Friday.On Saturday, devotees were allowed to have darshan of the Mahasamadhi after Veda Patanam, Pooja and Harathi. Thousands stood in the queues waiting for their turn.After wearing a deserted look for weeks following the death of Sai Baba, the pilgrim town of Puttaparthi has come alive once again. The rest houses and lodges in the town were crowded and a large number of people were seen moving on the roads.Meanwhile, police beefed up security in the wake of the serial bomb blasts in Mumbai.  A dog squad was pressed into service, while police parties stepped up frisking operations and also surveillance.Many devotees, however, expressed disappointment at the Mahasamadhi’s lack of grandeur belying the trust’s assurance of building an impressive samadhi by engaging architects from Malaysia, Hongkong and  leading engineers from Bangalore.They were also unhappy at being stopped by Seva Dal volunteers three feet away from the Samadhi.