Three layered queue system introduced in Tirumala to provide hassle-free darshan

Tirumala: M.G. Gopal, the executive officer of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, on Thursday inspected the new three-layered queue system introduced to provide hassle-free darshan to pilgrims, inside the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala.

He spent almost eight hours observing the pros and cons of the new system of darshan. TTD JEO K.S. Sreenivasa Raju, additional CVSO T. Siva Kumar Reddy and other TTD officials accompanied the EO during the inspections.

The EO instructed vigilance authorities to record the pilgrim darshan report on an hourly basis to check whether the new system was effective.
The engineering officials have set up wooden platforms at different heights to form three layers in order to provide hassle free darshan to the pilgrims.

The first platform is raised at a height of 16 inches, the second at seven inches and the third is at the floor level. The different heights will enable pilgrims to have darshan of Lord Venkateswara without any obstruction.

Many pilgrims expressed satisfaction about the new arrangement and said that it helped them have a better darshan.
The TTD officials observed that while close to 4,000 devotees were able to have darshan every hour earlier, the new three-layered queue system allowed anywhere between 4,200-4,300 devotees to have darshan of the Lord under the “Maha Laghu” system.

TTD officials, however, maintain that the true test for the system will be during the weekends when there is a heavy surge in the number of devotees.

Meanwhile, A devotee donated a new set of gold Padha Kavachams to the richest deity in the country, Lord Venkateswara of Tirumala, on Thursday. The ornament, made of 1-kg gold, is worth nearly Rs 30 lakh.

According to the TTD, the new Padha Kavachams was presented to the Tirumala temple by K. Srinath, a devotee from Visakhapatnam. The temple administration received the donation from the donor during the early hours on Thursday.

TTD officials offered a silk vasthram and prasadams of the Lord to the devotee.