Tirumala and Tirupati Bustles with Pilgrims Ahead of Vaikunta Dwara Darshan

Tirupati: Tirumala and Tirupati witnessed a surge in pilgrim activity on Friday as lakhs of devotees gathered for the 10-day Vaikunta Dwara Darshan at the renowned Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirumala.

Following this, TTD announced the suspension of slotted sarva (free) darshan token issuance and urged devotees to enter the queue lines at Tirumala directly for the day.

Simultaneously, it declared that only those with valid darshan tickets would be permitted into Tirumala during the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival from Dec 23 to Jan 1.

Despite these announcements, numerous devotees arrived at Tirumala and attempted to join the queue lines and compartments. The police and TTD vigilance and security staff intervened to maintain order. The authorities claimed that the queue lines and compartments were already full. This led to heated arguments between devotees and TTD staff, resulting in chaos near the ATC circle and various locations in Tirumala in the morning.

In response, TTD began issuing more than four lakh Vaikunta Dwara Darshan tickets for the 10-days slot through over 90 counters across nine locations in Tirupati city on Friday. Long queues formed at these counters throughout the day, with some complaints emerging that certain individuals were pressuring the counter staff to issue darshan tokens without the mandatory facial image of the devotees.

However, TTD warned of stringent action against such discrepancies.
Thousands of devotees started queuing up from Thursday night, resulting in serpentine lines at the counters. Eager to get the coveted tickets, devotees queued despite the winter chill. "We arrived last night itself and stood for almost eight hours to get the tickets," said Ramesh, a devotee from Nellore.

"But we don't mind the trouble. We are thankful to get the Lord's darshan through Vaikunta Dwara," he added.

Despite the throngs of devotees, things were fully under control and in order. TTD deployed special teams to manage the crowds and provide amenities to those standing in queues. Police personnel also maintained vigil to ensure orderly movement of the lines.

As per information at 6pm on Friday, about 1.75 lakh darshan tokens were issued to the devotees. The ongoing darshan slot booking has been extended till Dec 27.

Meanwhile, after the morning rituals on Saturday, the Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam is set to commence from 1:45am. The temple authorities are preparing for the grand parade of Lord Malayappa Swamy, accompanied by consorts Sridevi and Bhudevi on the Swarna Ratham (golden chariot) on Dec 23, Vaikuntha Ekadasi day, between 9am and 11am.

On Dec 24, Vaikuntha Dwadasi day, Chakra Snanam, also known as Swami Pushkarani Theertha Mukkoti, will be observed between 4:30am and 5:30am.