The drop in the number of devotees visiting Lord Ventaketeswara temple at Tirumala in the wake of coronavirus pandemic has left in dire straits the hawkers, roadside vendors and small traders who solely depend on the pilgrims for their livelihood.
Around 1,100 families live in the Balajinagar locality, a majority of whom have parted their land to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) as part of the implementation of its master plan. The breadwinners of most of these families are either petty traders or small-time shopkeepers trading in knick-knacks and other products the visiting devotees would need. Apart from them, around a 1,000 of hawkers—licensed and unauthorised— who depend on the pilgrims for their survival.
The prolonged lockdown since March and the restrictions imposed in the aftermath of the sharp spike in COVID-19 positive cases in the hilltown including the priests and TTD employees have resulted in a steep drop in the footfalls at the hill shrine and it is the vendors, hawkers and small traders who are bearing the brunt.
Many of them are forced to sell away their belongings or temporarily migrate to Tirupati in search of livelihood.
Licensing issue
“Many of us have procured linceces for our business. Now, we can not even opt for other businesses without the prior approval of the TTD. And none knows when the situation will be normal again. We have no clue how to run out families,” say a group of petty vendors in Tirumala.
Even as the Tirumala temple was reopened for the darshan on June 8, only 12,000 pilgrims were allowed to visit the temple daily. The number plummeted further to 9,000 a day with the recent announcement of a two-week lockdown in Tirupati.
Given the situation, the devotees who have booked darshan tickets are also cancelling them. Of the 9,000 darshan tickets issued online a day a meagre, only 6,000 devotees visit the hill shrine at present, when compared to a staggering 75,000 pilgrims per day during the pre-pandemic days.
Zero occupancy at mutts
With the sharp spike in cases, not even 5% of the 700 odd shops are opening at present. The condition of people in hundreds working at various private mutts and choultries is also no different.
With a majority of these establishments registering almost zero occupancy during the last four months, many workers are losing their livelihoods.
