The TTD administration seems to be drudging under pressure with the auspicious Vaikunta Ekadasi (the most important Sri Vaishnavite festival) coinciding with the New Year day – the two occasions on which the temple town rather witnesses a tumultuous turnout in the pilgrim crowd.
As the day on which Vaikunta Ekadasi and the New Year day befall happens to be Thursday, Vaikunta Dwadasi is observed on the following day on Friday. On both the days the temple administration is left with limited darshan hours as it has to facilitate the observance of special rituals like ‘Maha suddhi’ on the previous day and the weekly ‘abhishekam’ on the following day. While the management is constrained and left with only 19 ‘darshan’ hours on January 1 wherein it can supposedly clear a crowd of over 60,000 pilgrims the situation stands more precarious on the succeeding day with just 18 hours at its disposal.
Reviewing the arrangement with the Heads of various Departments and senior officials on Saturday, the Tirumala-based TTD JEO K.S. Srinivasa Raju appealed to the devout to take cognizance of the constraints and cooperate with the management and see it through the litmus-test. Separate committees with senior officials shall be constituted for ‘darshan’ and accommodation for the convenience of the visiting pilgrims. Both the ghat roads will be kept open round-the-clock on both the days of the festival period and ‘annadanam’ will be organised on both the footpaths leading to Tirumala.
