The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is making rapid strides to reduce the waiting time of pilgrims in having darshan at Tirumala.
The TTD management has already resolved to issue Rs. 300 special entry darshan tickets online to salt away the arduous waiting hours of devotees. As part of the move, more than 18,000 tickets will be made available every day which will be issued under three different categories.
While a major chunk of the tickets will be made available under the first category which can be booked a fortnight in advance, a moderate number will be allocated under the second category which can be availed one week in advance. Both the categories will benefit those who plan their pilgrimage well in advance. Meanwhile, under the third category, devotees can benefit themselves by availing the darshan tickets a day in advance. This is considered to be beneficial especially to those undertaking impromptu trip to the temple town.
Tirumala based TTDs Joint Executive Officer K.S. Srinivasa Raju told The Hindu that the management had adopted a scientific reasoning while allocating tickets to each category. “We have interacted with more than 15,000 pilgrims, a majority of whom were found to have planned their pilgrimage in advance. Every minutia of the devotees with regard to the plan of their visit has also been recorded. Based on these details, distribution of tickets to each category is being made,” he said.
Further, the management has now focussed its attention in ascertaining the quantum of tickets that can be issued on an hourly basis. For this, volunteers have been deployed at vantage points to have a valid assessment of the pilgrim flow along the darshan queues. The volunteers count every pilgrim along the lines and submit a detailed report at the end of the day. The exercise is expected to go on for another couple of days before the final compilation of all the statistics, The JEO said, adding that it would help the TTD to inscribe fairly accurate time on the ticket at which a devotee could turn up at the Vaikuntam queue complex for darshan.
These moves will help the management in reducing the gruelling waiting hours of devotees, Mr. Raju said.
