The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), which oversees administration of the Sri Venkateswara temple in Andhra Pradesh on Monday, December 27, said that it will be releasing online tickets for a special 'darshan' of the idol for January.
In a press release, the governing body said, "TTD is releasing the online tickets quota of SRIVANI Trust on December 28 at 3pm. TTD is releasing 1000 Break Darshan (Rs. 500 Laghu Darshan) tickets for January 1, online. Similarly, 1000 tickets (Rs. 300 Maha Laghu Darshan) for Vaikunta Ekadasi will also be released."
"Likewise for the remaining nine days of Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam starting from January 14 upto January 22, per day 2000 tickets (Rs. 500 Laghu Darshan) will also be available in the online booking for devotees. Besides, the regular online quota for the months of January and February will also be released," it added.
On Sunday, December 26, film actor and late actor Sridevi's elder daughter Janhvi Kapoor visited the famous hilltop shrine dedicated to Sri Venkateswara and offered prayers. Jahnavi, who had visited Kedarnath shrine last month with her friend and actor Sara Ali Khan, was among the VIPs who availed of the 'break darshan'.
The Tirumala temple located in Andhra Pradesh, attracts pilgrims from all over the world, and is also reputed to be the world's richest Hindu temple. Before the pandemic, the temple used to see an average of 50,000 to one lakh devotees visiting it each day. However, the number dwindled due to restrictions as a result of COVID-19.
Last month, the temple was closed to devotees for a few days after heavy rains lashed Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district where it is located, which had led to floods in the region. Heavy landslides also cut off access to ghat roads that lead to the temple, leaving many vehicles stranded.
With IANS inputs