TIRUMALA: The Tirumala temple will remain closed from 7 pm of July 16 to 5 am on July 17, in view of lunar eclipse. According to the TTD almanac, the lunar eclipse occurs at 1.31 am and lasts up to 4:29 am on July 17. But since it is a tradition to close Tirumala temple six hours prior to the eclipse, the temple will remain closed from 7 pm of July 16 till 5 am of July 17. In view of the closure of the temple for over 10 hours, the TTD has made arrangements to avoid inconvenience to pilgrims.
According to a release, the TTD cancelled Divya Darshan and gave Sarva Darshan tokens to pilgrims on July 16 as the temple remains open only for five hours on that day between 12 noon and 5 pm.Devotees will be allowed to enter the Vaikuntam Queue Complexes on the midnight of July 15 and will be allowed for darshan from 12 noon to 5 pm of July 16. Both the Vaikuntam Queue Complexes will remain empty after 5 pm as Annaprasadam will not be served on that day following eclipse and temple doors will be closed at 7 pm on July 16.
The TTD will keep 20,000 food packets ready for distribution among pilgrims from 3 pm to 7 pm on July 16 at Nada Neerajanam platform, Vaibhavotsava Mandapam and SV Museum. On July 17, when the temple door opens at 5 am after eclipse, rituals like Suddhi and Punyahavachanam will be performed, while Suprabhatam, Tomala, Archana and Koluvu will be performed in Ekantam. The devotees will be allowed to enter Vaikuntam Queue Complexes from 5 am onwards on July 17.“Keeping all these in view, the devotees are requested to plan their pilgrimage to Tirumala accordingly to avoid inconvenience,” the release said.