6 lakh devotees avail Vaikunta Dwara Darshan at Tirumala: EO

TIRUMALA: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Executive Officer AV Dharma Reddy on Friday conducted the ‘Dial your EO’ programme at Annamayya Bhavan in Tirumala and conveyed the Sankranthi wishes to the devotees. He stated that the Godakalyanam would be held at TTD administrative building in Tirupati on January 15.

Briefing about the Vaikunta Dwara Darshan initiative, the EO said that as many as 6.09 lakh devotees had darshan at the Tirumala temple through this initiative between January 2 and January 11.About 20,000 Special Entrance Darshan tokens and 50,000 Sarvarvadarshan tokens were provided per day through 100 counters in nine areas of Tirupati. He said that the Tiruppavai held from December 17 in place of Suprabhata Seva would end on January 14 followed by the resumption of Suprabhatam Seva from January 15. Dharma Reddy further said that the officials had made elaborate arrangements to celebrate Ratha Saptami on January 28.

The Executive Officer in his address highlighted the various activities conducted for the convenience of the devotees. He went on to say that the TTD had been providing free transport, accommodation and meals to those from underprivileged communities during Brahmotsavams and Vaikunta Ekadashi for the last two years. Dharma Reddy said that about 9,300 devotees from 190 SC, ST and Fishermen villages in the areas where Sri Venkateswara Temples were being constructed with the funds of Srivani Trust, had been given Vaikunta Dwara Darshan between January 3 and 9.

Stating that the TTD had provided break darshan tickets to the donors who contributed for the construction of temples, the EO said that the break darshan tickets given to Srivani Trust donors had been reduced to 1,000 (750 online and 250 offline) to accommodate more common devotees.

Meanwhile, the EO rubbished the campaign in a section of the media that the rental charges of accommodation rooms in Tirumala had been hiked. He made it clear that only the rents for the rooms belonging to the VIP category were increased and not that of the common devotees. He alleged that some people with vested interests were spreading lies on social media and requested the devotees not to believe such false news.

According to the TTD EO, the Tirumala temple has earned Rs. 129.37 crores in December 2022 with 20.26 lakh devotees flocking to the temple. It is learnt that as many as 1.08 crore laddus were sold during this period. The EO has also revealed overall financial details for the year 2022. He said that the TTD had amassed Rs 1,450.41 crores from 2.37 crore devotees who visited the temple.