The decision to extend Vaikunta dwara darshanam for 10 days at the temple of Lord Venkateswara has proved rewarding for the TTD in terms of both hundi income and the satisfaction quotient of devotees.
While the temple hundi derived a record income of ₹29.09 crore, about 4.26 lakh devotees had darshan of the presiding deity.
Briefing the media here on Monday, TTD Executive Officer K.S. Jawahar Reddy said it was for the first time in the history of the temple that the Vaikunta dwara darshanam was extended for 10 days and the response from devotees was overwhelming even during the COVID times.
Devotees were permitted into the temple in strict adherence to health protocols, he said, and thanked the pilgrim fraternity for cooperating with the TTD.
Daily darshanam quota
In reply to a question, he said a decision on enhancing the number of pilgrims allowed daily for darshan at the Tirumala temple would be taken probably by the end of February. For the sake of pilgrims’ safety, the management felt it appropriate to wait for some more time as the vaccination programme was also about to be rolled out.
Additional EO A.V. Dharma Reddy said that about 20.05 lakh laddus were made available to devotees during the period and ₹2.27 crore was received by way of accommodation charges. While about 90,000 pilgrims had availed themselves of the tonsuring facility, about 30 tonnes of traditional flowers in addition to 2 lakh cut rose flowers went into the embellishing work of the temple.
Security
In reply to a question, CVSO Gopinath Jatti said security had been beefed up at the over 50 temples under the TTD fold in the backdrop of growing instances of vandalisation of temples in the State. “More than 50% of TTD temples were equipped with CCTV cameras. We have also enhanced physical security and ensured security auditing as well as reviews on day-to-day basis. Efforts are also on to interlink all the temples with the Central Command Control centre at Tirumala for a better surveillance,” he said.
