TIRUMALA: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has made elaborate arrangements for the Garuda Seva as part of the annual Brahmotsavams on Friday.
The Garuda Seva would commence at 7 p.m. and would continue till midnight. In a move to ensure hassle-free darshan for the devotees, additional forces have been deployed. Speaking on the drop in footfall in the past four days of the annual fete, TTD Executive Officer (EO) AV Dharma Reddy attributed it to the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations.
He, however, stated the numbers might increase on Friday. With the possibility of an increase in the movement of personal vehicles and buses on the ghat roads, the TTD had prohibited two-wheelers from plying on both roads.
Anantapur Range DIG RS Ammi Reddy, DIG Gopinath Jetty, TTD EO Dharma Reddy on Thursday held a review on the security arrangements. They said that devotees would be allowed into the galleries on the four mada streets at designated timings and would be provided with annaprasadam. Those who cannot enter the galleries would be allowed to have a darshan of the Garuda Seva via the queue points. As many as 50,000 devotees can be accommodated in these queue points. The police department has made elaborate security arrangements with 5,000 personnel.
“Nearly 3-4 lakh devotees are likely to turn out for the Garuda Seva. The movement of devotees would be monitored through surveillance cameras and necessary steps would be taken to prevent any untoward incidents,’’ Ammi Reddy said. Children would be geo-tagged to ensure that they do not go missing. He appealed to the devotees to inform police about the movement of suspicious people and further added that a strict vigil would be kept on anti-social elements.
Meanwhile, Andal Sri Goda Devi garlands from Srivilliputtur in Tamil Nadu reached Tirumala on Thursday to decorate Garuda Seva. The garlands were brought to the Sri Pedda Jeeyar Mutt near Sri Bedi Anjaneyaswamy Temple. Speaking to reporters, Dharma Reddy said it is customary to offer Godadevi Malas from Srivilliputtur to Tirumala. He said that these sacred garlands will be decorated to Swami during Garuda Seva.