TIRUPATI: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has appealed to devotees, who rescheduled their darshan, not to choose any date from January 13 to 22 in view of Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam.
The TTD had offered the facility of rescheduling darshan to the devotees who booked their tickets from November 18 to December 10, 2021, and could not visit Tirumala due to heavy rains in Rayalaseema. They can visit Tirumala on any date of their choice after the 10-day Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam fete.
Meanwhile, Sarva Darshan (SSD) tokens for Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam will be issued to local people at five counters in Tirupati from 9 am on January 10, said TTD Additional Executive Officer AV Dharma Reddy.
He inspected the counters set up at MR Palle ZP High School, Ramanaidu Municipal High School, Tirupati Municipal Corporation office, Jeevakona ZP High School and Ramachandra Pushkarini. The darshan tokens will be issued in the five counters till 50,000 tickets for 10 days get exhausted. The devotees will be allowed to enter Tirumala only after 2 pm for the next day darshan, he added. In view of the surge in Omicron cases in the country, either a two-dose vaccine certificate or the RT-PCR test negative report taken 48 hours before the pilgrimage is mandatory for all the devotees to visit Tirumala.
TTD vigilance officials and Tirumala police held a joint meeting on Saturday to discuss security arrangements for Vaikunta Ekadasi as a large number of devotees are expected to visit the shrine. TTD Chief Vigilance and Security Officer Gopinath Jatti and Tirupati Urban SP Venkata Appala Naidu who attended the meeting underlined the need for proper coordination between the TTD vigilance wing and police in making foolproof security arrangements for the 10-day Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam fete.
As nearly 1,300 rooms out of the total 7,500 available in Tirumala are under renovation, the TTD urged the devotees to take accommodation in Tirupati to avoid inconvenience. It has been decided to telecast the Golden Chariot procession at Tirumala on Vaikunta Ekadasi live for the benefit of devotees.
On Vaikuntha Dwadsi, Chakra Snanam will be performed in Swami Pushkarini between 5 and 6 am in Ekantham. The TTD will maintain a buffer stock of six lakh laddus a day to run 41 prasadam counters during the 10-day fete as against 31 in normal times.
TTD appeal
As nearly 1,300 rooms out of the total 7,500 available in Tirumala are under renovation, the TTD urged the devotees to take accommodation in Tirupati to avoid any inconvenience