Priority to common devotees: TTD Chairman

As per the instructions of AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, priority is given to common devotees in providing Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam, stressed TTD Chairman BR Naidu.
Addressing media persons at Annamaiah Bhavan in Tirumala on Wednesday, the TTD Board Chief said elaborate arrangements have been made for the 10-day Vaikunta Dwara Darshan to be held from January 10, keeping in view of the huge turnout of devotees.
He said the VIP darshan commences on January 10 at 4.30 am while the Sarva Darshan begins at 8 am.
Keeping in view the larger interests of the pilgrims, SSD tokens will be issued at 90 counters set up at eight centres in Tirupati for devotees, and four counters at one centre in Tirumala for the Tirumala residents alone.
All the privileged darshans including senior citizens, disabled, parents with infants, NRI, and others remain cancelled during these 10 days.
Recommendation letters will also not be accepted during these days to allow more common devotees to have darshan through Vaikunta Dwaram, he stated.
“We have made better arrangements to avoid any traffic problems in Tirumala and Tirupati, and around 3,000 policemen have been deployed besides 1,550 TTD personnel for security arrangements. Arrangements have been made to distribute water and Annaprasadam to the devotees without interruption from 6 am to 12 midnight,” he added.
The Chairman reiterated that only devotees with darshan tokens or tickets are allowed in the queues due to limited accommodation available in Tirumala. Devotees are requested to come only on the allotted date and time on their token or tickets to avoid long waiting hours, he said.
The devotees were also requested to wear masks for their safety.
He appealed to Govindamala devotees to come to Tirumala only with Time Slot Tokens. Later, the Additional EO said that unplanned darshan creates issues for the devotees as well as the administration. Hence devotees are requested to observe restraint and get the SSD tokens in Tirupati. They should come to Tirumala only on the allotted date and time on their tokens or tickets to avoid any sort of problems, he asserted.
Board members Panabaka Lakshmi, Bhanuprakash Reddy, JEO Veerabrahmam, CVSO Sridhar and others were present.