Members of the Tirumala Tirupati Samrakshana Samithi (TTSS) staged a demonstration in front of the administrative building of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) here on Monday, demanding resumption of free darshan at the temple of Lord Venkateswara.
While all forms of darshan were suspended in view of the increasing cases of coronavirus in March early this year, devotees were allowed entry into the temples in graded manner once the measures announced earlier were relaxed. “But with an eye on revenue, the TTD has resumed everything but free darshan,” charged TTSS joint secretary R. Viswanath, who spearheaded the demonstration.
Mocking the argument that opening the free darshan stream could lead to further spread of the infection, the agitators wondered how the virus could spread by allowing the free darshan, mostly availed by common people, alone. “The nation has witnessed how the virus has attacked all strata of the society, right from the common man to the Vice-President of India,” he added.
The demonstrators also questioned the rationale behind the TTD management in reportedly sending invitations to leading politicians and industrialists, urging them to take part in the Navaratri Brahmotsavams, while denying entry to the common man on the pretext that it was being performed in Ekantam (in private). The agitators relented after a senior security official assured them to take their plea to the TTD Executive Officer and get free darshan introduced within four days.
