TIRUMALA: For the first time in Tirumala’s history, more than 1.5 lakh devotees thronged the hill shrine on a single day on Saturday, prompting the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) to launch special measures to manage the unprecedented rush.
TTD Additional Executive Officer Ch Venkaiah Chowdary said the entire administration had been mobilised to ensure a smooth and hassle-free darshan for pilgrims. He announced the cancellation of all leave for TTD employees, including the Sunday weekly holiday, and said all officers and staff had been deployed in Tirumala to coordinate crowd management.
To facilitate maximum darshan for common devotees, TTD has cancelled all VIP Break Darshan and Srivani donation darshan on Sunday and Monday. The quota of 800 same-day online Srivani Darshan tickets has also been cancelled, while quotas under SSD and certain other privileged darshan categories have been reduced. The time thus saved will be utilised for Sarva Darshan pilgrims.
Venkaiah Chowdary said darshan would continue round the clock. Despite these measures, around 25,000 devotees are expected to remain in the queue on Monday night and carry over to Tuesday.
On Saturday night, the Additional EO inspected the queue lines near Pachikaluva Gangamma Temple Circle and reviewed the arrangements. He said that on normal days, TTD facilitates darshan for 85,000 to 87,000 devotees with the coordinated efforts of officials, employees, vigilance personnel, police, Annaprasadam staff, sanitation workers and other departments.
However, Saturday witnessed one of the largest pilgrim gatherings in the temple’s history, with over 1.5 lakh devotees waiting for Srivari Darshan. In view of the extraordinary rush, all departments have been working in close coordination, continuously updating devotees and taking every possible step to minimise inconvenience in the queue lines.
As a similarly heavy influx is expected on Sunday, TTD has stationed additional police personnel to strengthen security and crowd management.
TTD is ensuring an uninterrupted supply of drinking water, Annaprasadam and other l amenities.