Andhra Pradesh - Tirupati   

Now, prepaid cards for Tirumala darshan

A.D. Rangarajan

TIRUPATI: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is contemplating a multipurpose prepaid card to provide hassle-free darshan to the tens of thousands of devotees visiting Tirumala everyday, especially from the rural areas.

TTD's e-darshan -- the concept of letting pilgrims book their accommodation, darshan and paid sevas beforehand - has become a tremendous success. However, e-darshan could not be availed by those who did not have a credit card. To overcome this shortcoming, the management is toying with the idea of introducing prepaid cards to reach out to this hitherto-untargeted segment.

With the State Government planning to take Internet to villages through Rajiv Internet Village (RajIV) scheme, the TTD management has found a new way of extending the facility to those from rural areas, who form a huge chunk of its visitors.

Talks with firms

TTD authorities are engaged in talks with some companies with regards to prepaid card business. The multi-purpose cards will be made available in post offices, considered the most accessible place in rural areas.

A rural devotee has to just buy the card, go to an Internet cafe, log on to the TTD's official website 'www.tirumala.org' and book his tickets. On typing the secret code, the charges get deducted from his account and automatically reach the official payment gateway.

Multi-purpose

According to a senior official, the card will be made a multi-purpose tool at a later stage through which one can pay electricity and telephone bills too.

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Now, prepaid cards for Tirumala darshan

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