TIRUMALA: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) released the quota of online tickets for ‘Arjita Seva’ for the period from October 3 to November 15 at 11 am on Friday.
Stating this at the monthly ‘Dial Your EO’ programme at the Annamaiah Bhavan here, TTD executive officer D Sambasiva Rao said that henceforth the temple administration would release the online quota of ‘Arjita Seva’ tickets by 11 am on the first Friday of every month to enable the pilgrims to book the same with ease and transparency.
He said that the quota of the online tickets released on the TTD’s official website on Friday included 5,275 tickets for ‘Suprabhatam Seva’, 120 tickets each for ‘Thomala Seva’ and ‘Archana’, 1,248 tickets for ‘Viseshapuja’, 100 tickets for ‘Astadalapada Padmaradhana’, 1,493 tickets for ‘Nijapada Darshanam’, 9,900 tickets for ‘Kalyanotsavam’, 1,650 tickets for ‘Unjal Seva’, 2,970 tickets for ‘Arjita Brahmotsavam’, 5,760 tickets for ‘Vasanthotsavam’ and 4,233 tickets for ‘Sahasra Deepalankarana Seva’.
The EO said that to book the ‘Seva’ tickets online the pilgrims had to register on the TTD website with one-time password (OTP). “We will also try to release some of these tickets at the e-darshan counters after studying the possibilities,” he added.
Replying to a query of another pilgrim on the possibility of revival of the ‘Laddu Nivedanam Seva’ by pilgrims to Sri Bhu Varahaswamy, the EO said that they would discuss the issue with the Agama pundits. He, however, pointed out that the pilgrim rush in the olden days was very less compared to the rush now.
It may be mentioned that this ‘seva’ was in vogue in the olden days when Ch Anna Rao was the TTD EO. The devotees used to perform this ‘seva’ in the belief that by doing so the presiding deity would bless their children with blissful married life.
Replying to the other callers, the EO said there were several vacancies in the TTD.
“But there will be no recruitment in the near future as it is an elaborate process and has to be done with the permission of the government. So, please do not believe in false propaganda and websites. When we take up the process of recruitment it will be publicised through our official website, SVBC and other media well in advance,” he maintained.
Earlier, the EO said that the TTD had made all arrangements to ensure the safety and security of the pilgrims in the galleries during the ensuing Brahmotsavam which was slated to take place from September 16 to 24 with ‘Garuda Seva’ on September 20.