Fire engulfed two shops on the street leading to Sri Govindaraja Swamy temple, maintained by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) in the early hours of Thursday (July 3, 2025).

The cause of the fire was attributed to short circuit in one of the shops. The fire spread rapidly to the pandal, the canopy arranged with dried coconut fronds over the street to create shade to the pilgrims from the scorching sun.

Three fire tenders were rushed to the spot to fight the raging flames. Smoke billowing out of the shops made the job tough for the firemen, who finally brought down the fire in around an hour’s time.

As the street majorly comprises of retail outlets selling mementoes and photo frames and not many residential complexes, the incident was noticed only in the early morning. The damage to the property was still being ascertained when reports last came in.