TIRUCHY: The footfall at the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam saw a record high on Saturday, with as many as 45,000 people visiting it, which according to sources, is the highest for the year. In the wake of Deepavali and the extended weekend, the temple has witnessed a surge in devotees over the past few days.
According to sources, the temple saw a footfall of 1,04,184 devotees between Wednesday and Saturday. A gradual increase was witnessed, with 7,187 visiting on November 3, 19,530 on November 4 and 31,759 on November 5. On Saturday, the footfall was 45,708, which is the highest in 2021.
Senior officials in the HR&CE department stated that the temple saw a footfall of around 50,000 before the pandemic, with occasions like Vaikunta Ekadesi seeing a surge to around 1.5 lakh. With COVID-19 restrictions, the arrival took a hit. Sources added that the health advisory continues to be followed in the temple even during the recent surge in footfall.