TIRUMALA: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is all set to allot the unutilised Udayasthamana Arjitha Seva tickets to devotees to raise funds for three major projects, including the construction of a superspeciality children’s hospital in Tirupati.
The Seva tickets will be available online and offline for devotees. The cost of each ticket will be Rs 1 crore on all days except Friday. The Seva ticket cost will be Rs 1.50 crore on Fridays. The allotment of Udayasthamana Seva tickets is expected to generate an income of Rs 600 crore for the TTD.
“We want to allot the unutilised Seva tickets to raise funds for the construction of a super speciality paediatric heart hospital in Tirupati and also two cancer hospitals in the State to extend free treatment to patients,” TTD Trust Board Chairman YV Subba Reddy told TNIE.
Six persons, including the donor, will be allowed to take part in Udayasthamana Seva. They can participate in all Arjitha Sevas starting from Suprabhata Seva in the early morning to Unjala Seva at night. A maximum of six ticket-holders will be allowed a day. The ticket can be utilised on any day of the year except during Brahmotsavams and special events.
Udayasthamana Arjitha Seva launched in 1981, was stopped in 1995. It was officially wound up in 2006. When the Seva was introduced, the ticket was priced at Rs 1 lakh. About 2,600 tickets were booked. However, 531 tickets have not been utilised by devotees due to various reasons. Now, the TTD has decided to allot these tickets to devotees at a price of Rs 1 crore each, Subba Reddy explained.
“We are providing an opportunity to donors to have darshan of the Lord from dawn to dusk under Udayasthamana Seva,” he said. The funds accrued from the Seva will be spent on the construction of Sri Padmavathi Cardiology Hospital for Children. “We are contemplating setting up two more hospitals in the State to provide free treatment to cancer patients,” he added.