The year 2017 has been rewarding to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) with the satisfaction ‘quotient’ of the pilgrims remaining ever-high.
As never before the year witnessed a slew of pilgrim-friendly initiatives being taken up by the management which include the impressive launch of the mobile app ‘Govinda – Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams’ enabling the devout book their darshan tickets, accommodation, make their contributions to hundi and avail the laddu prasadams over their handsets.
The introduction of the online dip system in the booking of the ‘arjitha sevas’ on the first Friday of every month also had earned wide accolades for the management.
The initiatives further gained pace after Mr. Anil Kumar Singhal took overas the new Executive Officer. The introduction of cash incentives to the pilgrims vacating their cottages early was an instant hit with the TTD reimbursing 50% of the rental charges to all those vacating their cottages 12 hours in advance. Free phone facility in addition to the feedback registers have been made available at all the cubicles in the Vaikuntham complex wherein the pilgrims are free to suggest ameliorations and as well pen down the deficiencies if any in the system.
Token system has been introduced in the current booking of accommodation at Tirumala relieving the pilgrims from spending long hours in the queue lines. Exclusive counters have been set up for the issuance of darshan tokens benefiting the senior and special citizens and a fleet of battery operated cars made available to ferry them to the darshan lines. Additional darshan slots were also experimented to benefit them well as the parents with infants on every third week and fourth week in a month.
The management also experimented with the time slot system in the ‘Dharma darshanam’ generally opted by the poor and lower middle class devotees. The main intention behind the concept is to enable the devout who constitute more than 60% of the visiting crowd have a quick darshan and simultaneously relieve them from spending long gruelling hours waiting in the darshan lines. The TTD, which is on cloud 9 given its initial success, is likely to enforce it on a permanent basis from February-end.
A few controversies
Even though the initiatives earned it wide accolades from cross-sections of the devotees the administration was also marred by a few controversies.
The management was rather constrained to beat a quick retreat on the proposal relating to the construction of a temporary steel staircase above the temple wall (Sampangi prakaram) and was also forced to reconsider its decision with regard to the annulling of the Divya darshan tokens during the weekends after reportedly facing reprehensions at the hands of Chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. The unauthorised entry row involving chief priest Ramana Deekshitulu into the temple along with his son and grandson and the suspension of over 200 barbers for resorting to corrupt practices also to some extent have dented the serene image of the institution. The institution suffered a major erosion of its image on the Vaikuntha Ekadasi festival day when it miserably failed to fulfil the requirements of the visiting public.
Meanwhile, several VIPs including the President Ram nath Kovind and other foreign dignitaries like Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba, Queen mother of Bhutan Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuk besides a galaxy of Cabinet Ministers and Chief Ministers of other States made a beeline for the darshan of the presiding deity – Lord Venkateswara during the calendar year.
