A record 6.47 lakh devotees were facilitated with the Vaikunta Dwara Darshan at the Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirumala between December 23 and January 1, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Executive Officer A.V. Dharma Reddy has said.
Briefing the media on January 2 (Tuesday), Mr. Reddy said that the temple hundi generated a revenue of ₹40.20 crore during the period.
Of the 4.23 lakh devotees who had booked the SSD tokens, around 3.24 lakh had darshan, while 1.97 lakh had the darshan on SED tokens.
Around 20,000 SriVani darshan tickets were made available and around 19,083 devotees had availed the facility.
More emphasis was laid on providing devotees a comfortable and hassle-free darshan.
Around 35.60 lakh laddus were sold during the period, while 17.81 lakh devotees availed Anna Prasadam and 2.14 lakh got their heads tonsured, Mr. Reddy said.
In reply to a question, he said that there was no response from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to the spate of letters written by the TTD related to taking up repairs neither to the Padala Mandapam at Alipiri nor Sri Sowmyanath Swamy temple at Nandalur.
Perturbed at the apathy shown by the ASI in addressing the renovation of the ancient structures, the TTD, on its own, has set up an exclusive body with Stapatis and experts.
