Masks now mandatory at Tirumala temple

The move comes in the wake of the fresh Covid-19 guidelines issued by Central and State governments.

Hyderabad: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has urged devotees, who will attend Vaikuntha Dwara Darshan at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple, to wear masks.

The move comes in the wake of the fresh Covid-19 guidelines issued by Central and State governments. The temple body is making elaborate arrangements for Vaikunta Dwara Darshan to ensure that devotees do not face any inconvenience.

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According to TTD Chairman YV Subba Reddy, 45,000 slotted sarva darshan tickets will be issued per day from January 2 to 11 for Vaikunta Dwara Darshan. The issuance of free SSD tokens will commence at 2 pm on January 1 at nine centres in Tirupati with a total of 92 counters.

The centres include Bhudevi Complex, Indira Maidan, Ramachandra Pushkarini, Jeevakona ZP High School, Vishnu Nivasam, Srinivasam, Ramanaidu Municipal High School, Seshadrinagar ZP High School at Bairagipatteda, and Govindaraja choultries.

Devotees with SSD tokens have been asked to report at Sri Krishna Teja Rest House in Tirumala on their specified date and time only to avoid long waiting hours for darshan. The TTD stated that no Srivani tickets would be distributed in person.

Given the New Year’s Day, Vaikunta Ekadasi on January 2, and Vaikunta Dwadasi on January 3, all bookings of accommodation from December 29 to January 3 stand cancelled. Even VIPs will be allotted only two rooms as there is limited accommodation at Tirumala.