Scanning of Srivari Mettu path tokens for Divya Darshan resumes
Update: 2024-06-20 19:22 GMT
Tirupati: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has on Thursday resumed scanning of Divya Darshan (DD) tokens issued to devotees taking the Srivari Mettu footpath for the darshan of Lord Venkateswara Swamy on Tirumala.
DD tokens being carried by the devotees will be scanned at the 1200th step, a measure that had been temporarily suspended earlier this year due to sightings of leopards in the area.
Scanning of the token verifies that devotees have completed half of their trekking route before reaching the hill town.
“Those who fail to get their tokens scanned will be barred from entering the Divya Darshan queues for having their darshan of the presiding deity,” TTD clarified.
Devasthanam authorities conducted a trial run of the scanning process on Thursday. They have requested devotees to take note of this reinstituted procedure when planning their pilgrimage to Tirumala.
Resumption of scanning marks a return to rules that TTD had modified at the start of 2024 when safety concerns arose after leopards had been sighted along the trekking routes. At that time, authorities scanned DD tokens at the Bhudevi Complex in Tirupati, allowing devotees to bypass footpaths altogether and proceed to Tirumala by vehicular transport.
However, bypassing the footpaths and gaining darshan led to complaints, leading to resumption of the token system. Apart from scanning of tokens at Srivari Mettu, token scanning has also been resumed at the 2083rd step and along Alipiri footpath as well.
On Thursday, TTD executive officer J. Syamala Rao inspected amenities at the Narayanagiri sheds housing various darshan queues. Disturbed by lack of sanitation at the premises, he ordered issuance of show cause notice to the official responsible for upkeep of the area.