TTD Faces Flak Over Poor Footfalls Till Day 3 of 10-Day Vaikunta Dwara Darshan
Social media is abuzz with allegations that Supreme Court and High Court judges, ministers, MLAs, TTD board members and other protocol dignitaries have faced severe inconveniences during their visits on Vaikunta Ekadasi.
Nellore: Criticism of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is intensifying over its handling of the Vaikunta Dwara Darshan during the first three days of the 10-day Vaikunta Ekadasi festivities.
TTD is facing flak not only from opposition quarters but also from within the ruling Telugu Desam Party. They have questioned the devasthanam’s decision to rely exclusively on online e-dip ticketing during the most auspicious days of the festival.
Pilgrim statistics that TTD has released indicate that the strategy has backfired. On Vaikunta Ekadasi day (December 30), only 67,053 devotees had darshan, followed by 70,256 on Vaikunta Dwadasi (December 31) and 65,225 on January 1. These figures are considered significantly low for one of the most sacred annual events at Lord Venkateswara’s shrine.
The contrast became clear when on January 2, the fourth day of Vaikunta Dwara Darshan, the devasthanam facilitated offline ticketing at the temple’s complex. On this day, as many as 83,032 devotees offered prayers, reinforcing criticism that low online quota during the initial days had unnecessarily restricted pilgrim inflow.
Andhra Pradesh State Biodiversity Board chairman Neelayapalem Vijay Kumar questioned the rationale behind TTD’s approach, especially in light of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s repeated calls to boost tourism and pilgrim footfall across the state.
“TTD should be implementing measures that enhance pilgrim numbers, temple revenues and hundi collections. Instead, its decisions have led to a visible decline in footfall on an occasion as auspicious as Vaikunta Ekadasi,” he remarked, observing that thousands of devotees could have otherwise had the darshan of the Lord.
Former TTD chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy took the temple administration to task, accusing it of creating a “fear psychosis” among devotees. “It is deeply unfortunate that such mismanagement resulted in a paltry turnout on Vaikunta Ekadasi. Instead of projecting the event as a grand success, the government must introspect and hold the TTD accountable for the below-average footfall during the first three days,” he maintained.
Social media is abuzz with allegations that Supreme Court and High Court judges, ministers, MLAs, TTD board members and other protocol dignitaries have faced severe inconveniences during their visits on Vaikunta Ekadasi. These reportedly include delays in issuing darshan passes, allotment of non-air-conditioned accommodation to judges and irregularities in VIP darshan ticket distribution.
Responding to the controversy, TTD trust board chairman B.R. Naidu said all such allegations will be examined in detail at the next board meeting after the conclusion of Vaikunta Dwara Darshan on January 8.
