TTD to shift Tirumala room allotment system to Tirupati, change VIP break darshan timings

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam board took a couple of major decisions to provide a better darshan experience to the common devotees.

The board, which met on Saturday in Tirumala, decided to change the timings of VIP “break darshan” to 10 AM from the present opening hours of 5:30 AM. The alteration is to enable Srivari darshan for the common pilgrims who will be waiting for hours together in the compartments and queue lines by the time the VIP darshans finish at about 8-9 AM, depending on the daily rituals inside the temple.

The TTD trust board that manages the famed Lord Venkateshwara temple also decided to shift the accommodation allotment system on the Tirumala hill to Tirupati.

“TTD has, all categories of rooms added, has about 7,500 units, which suffices the needs of only a limited number of pilgrims. Many pilgrims come to Tirumala and wait for several hours till the rooms get vacated and allotted to them. To avoid such a situation, the board has decided to shift the central reservation etc., room booking offices to Tirupati so that allocation can be made there only,” a senior TTD official told DH.

The intention is that on knowing the accommodation allotment is exhausted for the day or next, the pilgrims can alternatively take accommodation in Tirupati instead of traveling to the hill and wait long hours there for a room.

According to the TTD board chairman YV Subba Reddy the changes would be implemented on a trial basis first, likely in October.

Reddy said that the issuance of Slotted Sarva Darshanam (SSD) tokens would also be resumed with a limited number after the Puratasi month.

The TTD would place a white paper on its properties on its website for the third consecutive year, to show details of 960 properties spread in 7,123 acres and worth about Rs 85,705 crore.