Tirupati: The new accommodation allotment system TTD introduced a month ago has reduced waiting time for visiting pilgrims in getting accommodation at Tirumala. Accommodation at hilltop is the first and most difficult task for devotees before having darshan of Lord Venkateswara.
Since inception of the new system, as many as 70,148 pilgrims have availed the accommodation facility in the hill town, 35,418 of them under ARP and 34,730 in current booking.
To avoid delay in allotment of accommodation to pilgrims, TTD decentralised the registration system from June 12. New registration counters have been opened at six locations in Tirumala, instead of being done only at CRO.
Devotees who book accommodation online through advance reservation can scan their receipts at Alipiri tollgate, apart from Alipiri and Srivarimettu footpath routes. By the time they reach Tirumala, they will get an SMS to their registered mobile number about the sub-enquiry office they must approach to get their accommodation.
Siva Prakasan, a devotee from Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, said, "I have seen TTD management’s permutations and combinations in accommodation allotment system since past two decades. The present system of decentralised accommodation is the best for convenience of pilgrims. Earlier, we used to stand in serpentine queues at CRO. This time, I got a room allotted at MBC within no time."
A senior TTD official said for current booking, the devotee has to register at any one of the registration counters, giving the registered mobile number. The person would subsequently get an SMS along with the name of sub-enquiry office, where accommodation will be allotted.
