TTD to reduce VIP breaks, Srivani, tourism quotas, virtual sevas during peak summers

TIRUMALA: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has considered reducing VIP breaks, SRIVANI, tourism quotas, virtual sevas, and Rs.300 darshan tickets while prioritising ordinary devotees during the peak summer vacation season, which runs from April 15 to July 15, according to TTD Chairman YV Subba Reddy.

TTD Chairman along with TTD EO AV Dharma Reddy briefed the media on Monday at Annamaiah Bhavan in Tirumala on summer arrangements.

When discussing the summer arrangements, TTD Chairman appealed to VIPs reduce referral letters during these three peak months so that common devotees might have a quick darshan without having to wait for a long period.

Divya Darshan would be resumed for a week on a trial basis at the Alipiri (10,000 tokens) and Srivarimettu (5,000 tokens) sidewalk pathways beginning April 1, 2023.

He said that Tirumala had around 7,500 rooms that could accommodate nearly 40,000 pilgrims, with approximately 85 percent of the rooms dedicated for common devotees. Facial recognition technology, which was recently installed, increased transparency in room allocation, allowing more devotees to swiftly acquire rooms.

Anna prasadam would be provided at Tirumala at the Matrusri Tarigonda Vengamamba Annaprasadam Complex, PAC 2, 4, Vaikuntham compartments, queues, and food courts. Coolant would be applied at all the vital congregation points during the hot summer season.

A reserve of laddu would be kept on standby. Senior officials would be assigned supervising duties to ensure the smooth operation of darshan for the large number of visiting devotees during the peak summer season.