Andhra Pradesh - Tirumala   

New Year impact on Tirumala temple too

Staff Reporter

Entire temple complex decorated with a large variety of flowers and colourfully illuminated

GLORY INTACT: A floral cutout of Mahavishnu in front of the Mahadwaram of the Venkateswara temple at Tirumala on Monday.

TIRUMALA: The temple of Lord Venkateswara here was abuzz with pilgrim activity on Monday, New Year's Day. The entire temple complex was tastefully decorated with a large variety of flowers and colourfully illuminated, befitting the occasion.

The temple was thrown open to the public in the early hours of Monday after the completion of the daily rituals. Braving the biting cold, devotees started queuing up for the darshan of the Lord since Sunday evening.

Crowd management

The bitter pill which the TTD management was rather forced to swallow on Vaikunta Ekadasi day last Saturday owing to the unprecedented turnout of pilgrims had its impact on the management which this time handled the thronging crowds effectively. The issuance of the VIP darshan passes for the New Year eve was meticulously handled and the queues were regulated properly. With top officials of the TTD making themselves available inside the main temple and monitoring the situation the queues moved faster.

The temple `hundi' which has been registering huge receipts continuously for the last ten days on Monday also netted a huge income of over Rs.1.85 crores - the highest ever on New Year's Day. The temple management on its part imposed the `Maha laghu darshan' system inside the temple to clear the pilgrim crowd. According to information, more than 55,000 devotees had the darshan of the Lord till evening.

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New Year impact on Tirumala temple too

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