Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Chairman Y.V. Subba Reddy on Friday denied any move to increase the prices of ‘arjitha seva’ tickets at the temple of Lord Venkateswara here.
Addressing the media, Mr. Subba Reddy said the proposal was routinely discussed during the meeting of the board of trustees, and that the TTD was yet to arrive at any concrete decision. “At least for now, the TTD is in no mood to enhance the price of ‘arjitha seva’ tickets,” he said
“The possibility of enabling the devotees to take part in the ‘arjitha sevas’ from April is being explored,” Mr. Subba Reddy added.
There was a remarkable increase in the pilgrim rush since the launch of ‘sarva darshanam’, which was reintroduced last week after a gap of two years.
“Despite the increase in pilgrim crowd, there is a fool-proof arrangement in place for serving food free of cost,” he said, and added that efforts were on to serve ‘chapatis’ to the devotees arriving from the northern States. He also directed the officials to ensure that ‘annadanam’ was carried out at two more locations at the hill temple.
Referring to the decision of the board not to permit sale of food in Tirumala, Mr. Subba Reddy said he was optimistic about finding a way out in safeguarding the livelihood of all those involved in the trade.
He further said that providing a hassle-free and quicker darshan to common pilgrims had always remained on top of the TTD agenda, and it was for this reason that the management had resolved to scrap the ‘VIP break darshan’ during the weekends.
