TTD seeks devotees’ opinion on 6-day closure of Tirumala temple, sets up call centre

Pilgrims can express opinions by calling 0877-2233333/2277777 besides other toll-free numbers.
TTD seeks devotees’ opinion on 6-day closure of Tirumala temple, sets up call centre
TTD seeks devotees’ opinion on 6-day closure of Tirumala temple, sets up call centre
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Days after the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) in Andhra Pradesh had said that they were reconsidering their earlier decision to shut their doors to devotees for six days in August, they have asked the public for their feedback on the issue. 

The TTD said that devotees now had time till July 23, to call up the regulatory board of the temple and voice their opinions. Following this, the TTD Trust board meeting which is scheduled on July 24, will take a final call. 

Call centres have been set up with phone numbers 0877-2233333/ 2277777, where pilgrims can call and give their opinions. 

Toll-free numbers, 1800425333333/18004254141, have also been set up, while the TTD also set up a WhatsApp number at 9399399399.

Additionally, devotees can also send their feedback to the email id, helpdesk@tirumala.org, the TTD said.

TTD Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal, along with Chairman Putta Sudhakar Yadav on Tuesday told the media that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has asked them to review the decision, so as to avoid hurting the sentiments of devotees.

“As per that direction, TTD will take opinion from devotees. We also have a trustees meeting on July 24, where we will take a decision on how to accommodate the darshans in the little time that is available during the ritual,” Anil Kumar had told reporters.

He explained that during the days of the ritual i.e. between August 11 and 16 – the temple can allow darshans for only 30 hours; which means, that they can accommodate around 15,000 devotees per day for the six days.

However, the temple receives 60,000-80,000 people every day and has been managed by hundreds of officials and priests. The figure even crosses a lakh during summer vacations and on special occasions.

In April last year, the temple reportedly said that it earned Rs 1,038 crore through cash offerings from devotees in 2016-17.

It had approved an annual budget of Rs 2,858 crore for 2017-18.

According to TTD officials, the temple's earnings during 2018-19 are expected to be Rs 2,894 crore, of which the offerings in temple 'Hundi' are likely to be Rs 1,156 crore.

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