Tirumala Overwhelmed with Pilgrims

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On Saturday, devotees were stopped from entering the sanctum sanctorum thereby

barring darshan from close quarters. Tirumala has over the past few days been

witnessing an unusually large number of pilgrims, which official sources put in

lakhs. Up until the new rule was enforced, pilgrims could walk up to Ramulavari

Meda, 25 feet away from the deity. On Saturday, they were allowed access till

the dwarpalakas, 50 feet away. The dwarpalakas stand at the entrance to the

sanctum sanctorum. The idea was to ensure that no pilgrim leaves the shrine

without getting a darshan after having sweated it out in queues for close to 60

hours, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams special officer A V Dharma Reddy

explained.

 

In a further fine-tuning of his plans, he said he might introduce a ramp at the

entrance to the sanctum sanctorum which would help people get a clearer view.

Lighting inside the shrine too would be improved. The new system, he said, was

introduced on Saturday morning and within four -and-a-half-hours, over 40,000

people had darshan and 39 compartments full of pilgrims cleared. By the close

of day, 12 more compartments had been cleared. Srinivas, a devotee at the

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, said: "If we were allowed inside the sanctum

sanctorum, we would have had a better view of the Lord. But instead of waiting

for 60 hours and going without darshan, getting it from a distance is better."

 

He described Saturday's change in procedure as a trial run and added the new

system would help people have a darshan within 24 hours of their arrival at

Tirumala.

In a further fine-tuning of his plans, he said he might introduce a ramp at the

entrance to the sanctum sanctorum which would help people get a clearer view.

Lighting inside the shrine too would be improved. The new system, he said, was

introduced on Saturday morning and within four -and-a-half-hours, over 40,000

people had darshan and 39 compartments full of pilgrims cleared. By the close

of day, 12 more compartments had been cleared. Srinivas, a devotee at the

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, said: "If we were allowed inside the sanctum

sanctorum, we would have had a better view of the Lord. But instead of waiting

for 60 hours and going without darshan, getting it from a distance is better."

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