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Pilgrim crowds thin at Tirumala after weekend rush; darshan taking 8 hoursOn Sunday, 90,885 devotees availed darshan, slightly higher than Saturday's 89,318 pilgrims
Prasad Nichenametla
DHNS
Last Updated IST
Representative image. Credit: PTI file photo
Representative image. Credit: PTI file photo

The pilgrim rush situation at Tirumala eased after the weekend peak when the darshan time had shot up to over 48 hours.

While the number of pilgrims at the famous Hindu shrine fell considerably on Monday, darshan at the Lord Venkateshwara Swamy temple is currently taking about eight hours.

On Sunday, 90,885 devotees availed darshan, slightly higher than Saturday's 89,318 pilgrims.

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An "unprecedented pilgrim rush" to the temple over the past weekend had pushed the 'Sarva Darshanam' waiting time to over 48 hours, prompting the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam's officials to appeal to the devotees planning a visit to reschedule their pilgrimage.

In view of the enormous crowds, TTD Chairman Y V Subba Reddy has asked the pilgrims "to come prepared as they have to wait patiently for their turn of Srivari Darshan."

Tirumala is witnessing a heavy surge of pilgrims as the Covid-19 situation relaxed after two years, Reddy said on Sunday.

Summer vacations and the weekend have also contributed to the massive surge in pilgrim numbers, which an official said was higher than at the time of Vaikunta Ekadasi, Garuda Seva, like most auspicious days.

The darshan queue lines and 30 waiting compartments in the Vaikuntam complex were full on Monday.

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(Published 30 May 2022, 21:33 IST)