It is a common perception among the public that devotees arriving in the sacred town with recommendation letters from VIPs are given preferential treatment by the TTD.
However, in the past one week, devotees seeking darshan tickets under the discretionary quota are being subjected to long waiting hours even to know the status of their requests.
The TTD provides ample tickets under the discretionary quota, popularly known as VIP quota, to devotees who come to Tirumala armed with letters of recommendation from legislators, ministers and other dignitaries on a day-to-day basis.
The devotees applying for tickets under the privileged quota are normally sent a text message before 4 p.m. enabling them to purchase their allotted seva tickets by evening.
Unexpected turn
But things have taken an unexpected turn in the past one week, with devotees having to wait at the TTD offices till late in the night to get tickets. With this, the devotees, particularly those securing tickets for pre-dawn rituals, are being subjected to difficulties.
A large number of devotees prefer to lodge their families in Tirupati and rush to Tirumala as all the formalities for seeking darshan tickets under the quota, including submission of the requisition letter, identity proof and biometric impressions, have to be completed before noon. But the inordinate waiting hours in getting a confirmation message is pushing devotees into a state of uncertainty as the ghat roads remain closed between midnight and 3 a.m.
This apart, devotees are neither allowed to enter the premises of the TTD offices nor is there any existing mechanism to keep them updated regarding the fate of their requests.
Efforts in vain
Even so, those whose requests are rejected are left feeling miserable as all their effort goes in vain. Not only do they spend the entire day in the hopes of their request getting confirmed, but they also lose out on the opportunity of joining the ordinary queue lines for darshan of the deity. Devotees request that the management take note of the ordeals faced by them and reestablish the procedure of sending the text messages in time so that they can plan their next step accordingly.