Vigilance Probe Finds Bulk Booking of SRIVANI Tickets

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams’ (TTD) vigilance wing has uncovered a racket involving bulk booking and resale of SRIVANI trust darshan tickets. Private agents were allegedly using software tools to secure tickets in large numbers and sell them at inflated prices.

The issue came to light after two devotees from Chennai lodged a complaint with the TTD vigilance wing on May 6, alleging that private agents were collecting excess money by promising SRIVANI darshan tickets. An inquiry revealed the involvement of private travel agencies, net centres and online agents using software-assisted methods to complete bookings within seconds of the portal opening.

TTD releases 800 SRIVANI tickets online every day between 9 am and 2 pm. Devotees who secure tickets must report for darshan at 4 pm. Vigilance officials suspect that agents were storing devotees’ Aadhaar and personal details in advance and using third-party auto-fill applications to gain an unfair advantage over regular users attempting manual bookings. Officials found that nearly 200-250 tickets were being diverted daily.

The vigilance wing has sought technical details from the Electronic Data Processing (EDP) wing to verify whether multiple bookings originated from common IP addresses and mobile numbers. “The issue is under investigation and agencies involved in bulk booking of SRIVANI tickets are being blacklisted. We are also probing whether there was any insider involvement or unauthorised access to devotees’ Aadhaar details,” a senior vigilance official said.

During the probe, the vigilance wing reportedly identified a Chennai-based firm, MS Padmavathi Travels, which allegedly charged devotees ₹13,500 for tickets officially priced at ₹10,500. A case was registered at the Tirumala One Town police station and police teams were sent to Chennai to trace those involved.

Meanwhile, TTD dismissed reports that the SRIVANI ticket booking portal had been hacked. The temple body maintained that the system is secure and cannot be breached or accessed unlawfully. In a statement, TTD said certain brokers were exploiting advanced technologies such as AI-powered auto-fill and auto-copy tools to complete bookings faster than regular users.

TTD added that technical teams are continuously tracking suspicious activity, detecting fake user IDs and blocking unauthorised booking practices. “The booking software is being upgraded regularly to improve security measures,” it said. The temple body also clarified that the ticket allotment process follows a strict “first come, first served” policy and that tickets may become available again automatically if transactions fail or payment gateway issues interrupt bookings.