Close to 3,000 employees of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) along with their family members thronged the Balaji link bus station near Alipiri at the foot of Tirumala hills, at Tirupati on Monday, to board buses bound for Tirumala to have darshan of Lord Venkateswara during the trial run.
The APSRTC staff, in coordination with the TTD officials, monitored the issuance of tickets to the employees and boarding the buses. The COVID-19 guidelines were in place at the bus-stand and Alipiri tollgate and those who boarded the bus were made to wear face masks, use sanitizers and maintain six-foot social distance. Thermal screening was in place at the entry points manned by personnel with PPE.
Local temples
The local temples under TTD administration — Govindaraja Swamy temple, Goddess Sri Padmavathi Ammavari temple at Tiruchanur, Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy temple at Srinivasa Mangapuram, Prasanna Venkateswara Swamy temple at Appalayagunta and Lord Shiva temple at Kapila theertham — witnessed devotees in moderate numbers The TTD staff had cleared the devotees through online and SMS modes for darshan.
The Lord Varasiddi Vinayaka temple at Kanipakam near Chittoor went into a festive mood, opening darshan for the devotees, after 80 days. Residents of Irala, Tavanampalle and Chittoor mandals visited the temple and had a darshan by following COVID-19 guidelines.
No darshan at Srikalahasti
In view of the red and containment zones, darshan for devotees remained suspended at the famous temple of Lord Shiva at Srikalahasti on Monday. The pilgrim town witnessed more than 100 COVID-19 positive cases during the last 80 days, amounting to one-fourth of the total cases in Chittoor district.