Tirumala Hill Temple Cancels Privileged Darshans During Navaratri Brahmotsavams

Tirumala: TTD has cancelled all privileged darshans at the hill temple in Tirumala during the nine-day festival from October 15 to 23 in anticipation of a huge influx of devotees for the 'Navaratri Brahmotsavams' of Lord Venkateswara.

The decision was announced by TTD executive officer Dharma Reddy at a media briefing in Tirumala after the ‘Dial your TTD EO’ programme.

He said the aim was to ensure that the common devotees received priority in darshan during the festival period. The VIP break (except for protocol VIPs in-person) and privileged darshans, including those for infants and parents, NRIs, defence personnel, senior citizens and physically handicapped individuals, will not be allowed throughout the 'Srivari Brahmotsavams'.

The Srivari temple will be closed on Oct 28 from 7.05pm till 3.15am on Oct 29 due to a partial lunar eclipse from 1.05am to 2.22am on Oct 29.

The Anna Prasadam activity in Tirumala will also be temporarily halted from 6pm on Oct 28 until 9am the next day.

As for the mechanisation of Laddu prasadam preparations, the EO said the quality of laddus produced by machines was not comparable to the traditional, non-mechanized methods in prevalance at the hill temple for decades.

“TTD would not compromise on quality. If mechanisation does not ensure quality, we would stop the present trial run and revert to traditional or partially mechanized methods,” he said.

According to Dharma Reddy, the Tirumala temple reported Hundi collections of '111.65 crore in Sept 2023. The same month, 21.01 lakh devotees visited the temple and 1.11 crore Srivari laddus were sold.

As for the lower pilgrim footfall during the 'Salakatla Brahmotsavams' last month, the EO expressed the hope that the upcoming 'Navaratri Brahmotsavams' beginning on Oct 15 would see a larger turnout of pilgrims.