Tirupati Venkateswara Swamy's favourite day of the week is Saturday.  Many of the devotees observe fast on Saturdays at least one time in the night.  As it is also happens to be the weekend and a holiday for many that is followed by Sunday which is a general holiday for all, Saturdays have assumed importance to visit Venkateswara Swamy on that day.  

Today being Saturday Tirupati is thronged with devotees.  Devotees are waiting in 26 compartments in Vaikuntham queue complex.  The estimated time now for Sarva Darshanam is 12 hours and 4 hours for the special one.  The devotees reach on foot can have Darshan of the deity after a wait of 6 hours.  

As the devotees visit in large numbers on Saturdays and Sundays and as the Laddu Prasadam is an important one, as important as the Darshan of Swamy, TTD makes prior arrangements to ensure sufficient stock of laddus.  But a mechanical problem occurred in the mechanized laddu maker machine's conveyor belt that carries bundi and the production of laddus stopped today.

(AW-SriJa)