Andhra Pradesh - Tirupati   

Lakhs throng Tirumala on ‘Vaikunta Ekadasi’

TIRUMALA: Lakhs of devotees from all over the country congregated atop the temple town of Lord Venkateswara, Tirumala, on Wednesday on the occasion of ‘Vaikunta Ekadasi’ which was observed with religious ecstasy.

The temple was opened at 00.05 hours and after the conclusion of the daily temple rituals, the sacred Vaikunta Dwaram - the innermost passage encircling the main sanctum sanctorum of the Lord, was opened amidst the chanting of Vedic hymns.

According to the temple sources, it is estimated that over one lakh devotees had the darshan of the Lord and passed through the narrow Vaikunta dwaram. The influx of pilgrims was so heavy that the arrangements made by the TTD proved inadequate. Darshan queue lines stretched to several kilometres outside the queue complexes.

Devotees, who grew restless waiting for hours to have darshan of the lord, staged protest in front of the second Vaikuntam queue complex and raised slogans against the TTD management. Vehicular traffic was disrupted for over half-an-hour with the devotees squatting in front of the complex. The devotees alleged that the management was more keen on serving the interests of VIPs rather than the ordinary devotees. The TTD slapped ‘Maha laghu darshan’ system and dispensed with issuing of even cellar darshan tickets with the devotees resorting to agitation.

‘Grandeur’ marked the golden chariot procession in the morning. The processional deities of Lord Malayappa Swamy flanked by his two consorts atop the chariot was taken out on the mada streets. Prominent among those who visited the temple were Union Ministers - Sushil Kumar Shinde, Shelja, Panabaka Lakshmi, Subodh Kanth Sahay, over a dozen judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, State Ministers and Ministers from other States besides cine artistes.

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