TTD’s online centralised donor management system a hit

Facilities can be enjoyed by donors at the click of a mouse.

A view of Sri Venkateswara temple at Tirumala hills in Chittor district of Andhra Pradesh, a southern Indian State. The sacred spot on the hill about 2,800 feet above sea level is known as Tirumala. The hill forms part of the Eastern Ghats and is also known as Venkatachala and Seshachala. The Puranic legends say that Lord Vishnu, of his own choice, came down to stay here for the benefit of humanity.

The online centralised donor management system (CDMS), introduced by the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams, has enabled thousands to avail themselves of privileges at the click of a mouse.

Under the new user-friendly system, no physical passbooks are issued to the donors. All the facilities can be availed online. Donors need not produce any ‘live’ certificates.

All they need to do is furnish their mail address and phone numbers, and generate the passbooks on their own. They need not approach any office or official for darshan of the deity. They can directly gain entry at the Vaikuntam queue complex.

VIP darshan

Even donors entitled for VIP darshan can directly report at the Vaikuntam. The bar codes of the passbooks are verified and scanned ahead of permitting them for the darshan. The TTD has made the facility available both online and offline.

Of the 4,200 people who have donated after the launch of the new system in September last, more than 4,000 have generated passbooks on their own.

Of over 40,000 people who had donated before the launch of the new system, more than 13,000 had generated their passbooks. For the benefit of the remaining 27,000 donors, the TTD had set April 30 as the deadline.

In an exclusive interview to The Hindu, TTD Executive Officer D. Sambasiva Rao said all old passbooks stood devalued with the introduction of the new system. Devotees who failed to generate new passbooks ahead of the deadline can get new ones during their first visit to the town after April 30.