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Rain hits pilgrim inflow from Mumbai

Staff Reporter

Many persons who booked tickets could not make it to the temple

TIRUMALA: The unprecedented rain that battered Mumbai has its effect on pilgrim inflow to the Tirumala temple.

Some 350 persons from Mumbai, who visit the temple annually during the month of July under the banner of Balaji Bhajan Mandali, had reserved hundreds of darshan and train tickets even for this year.

Darshan tickets worth over Rs. 1.53 lakhs were booked by them for three days from July 27 to 29, when misfortunate struck them in the form of torrential rain that brought air and train traffic to a halt.

In all, the devotees had reserved 618 AAD and NPD seva tickets (the cost of each ticket is Rs. 200) for Thursday and Friday, besides purchasing some 30 Sahasra Deepalankara seva tickets of Rs. 1,000 each for three days continuously from July 27.

If devotees who reserve darshan ticket in advance and fail to make it to the temple on the prescribed date owing to unforeseen reasons, the TTD, as a privilege to such devotees, extends a one-time darshan facility of choosing any other date of their choice on payment of 25 per cent of the cost of the ticket reserved earlier.

It has to be seen whether the TTD will exempt these devotees even from paying the extra amount.

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