TTD to begin trial run for early VIP Break Darshan
TIRUMALA: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has announced a trial run to reinstate the Early Morning VIP Break Darshan, shifting from the current VIP Break Darshan schedule that begins at 8 am or 10 am on peak days like Fridays, and concludes by 1:30 pm.
The decision, made by TTD officials and temple authorities, aims to revert to the earlier 4:30 am or 5:00 am start time. Earlier during the previous YSRCP government, the then Executive Officer AV Dharma Reddy introduced changes allowing VIP Break Darshan to start at 8 am or 10 am based on VIP demand and referral letters.
Initially, the VIP Break Darshan ticket numbers were capped below 1,000, even on peak days, but later surged to 2,300. Government orders during that period mandated the temple board to accept at least one referral letter per MLA/MP daily.
Later, it was increased to two, extending the same policy to Telangana MLAs and MPs.
This change led to a significant rise in VIP tickets, reaching 4,000 to 5,000 per day.
Following the election code, TTD temporarily halted the discretionary quota but resumed it post-government change, recently reinstating Telangana representatives' referral privileges.
New change may be a bane to commoners
Currently, Telangana MLAs and MPs can submit one letter for six people for VIP Break Darshan on Mondays and Sheeghra Darshan on Tuesdays, while Andhra Pradesh MLAs and MPs can submit letters from Wednesday to Saturday.
The daily VIP Break Darshan, including protocol, Srivani, and referral categories, accommodates over 5,000 tickets, with recent additions pushing the count above 7,000.
The proposed shift to early morning darshan has sparked concerns among temple officials.
The 5:00 am to 10:00 am slot is currently utilised to allow 7,500 to 23,000 common devotees, particularly on weekends, to have darshan without tickets or tokens.
An early VIP Break Darshan could force common pilgrims to wait in queue lines from midnight until 11:00 am. Despite these concerns, the TTD Trust Board has directed authorities to proceed with the trial run to assess the feasibility of the new timings.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
6 held in Palnadu dual murder case
1 2 Vijayawada: Veldhurthy police of Palnadu district arrested six accused in the double murder of Javisetty Venkateswarlu (62) and Javisetty Koteshwara Rao (52), residents of Gundlapadu village. The crime took place on the road between Bodilaveedu and Mandadi villages at 4.45 pm on May 24. According to the complaint by Thota Anjaneyulu (38), the victims, who were siblings, were returning to Gundlapadu from Nakkagudem in Telangana's Suryapet district after attending a wedding. They were travelling on a two-wheeler when the accused in a Scorpio vehicle allegedly rammed into their bike, and then killed them by pelting stones. The arrested have been identified as Thota Venkataramaiah (41), Javisetty Srinivasa Rao (59), Thota Guruvayya (50), Dongari Nagaraju (30), Thota Venkateswarlu (43), and Gellipogu Vikram (40). However, three others — YSRCP leader and former MLA Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy (55), his brothers Pinnelli Venkatarama Reddy (48), and Pinnelli Venkata Reddy (49), are currently absconding. Palnadu SP Kanchi Srinivas said, as per the preliminary investigation, the motive behind the murders was a long-standing factional rivalry in Gundlapadu village. The victims belonged to one faction led by Venkateswarlu alias Moddayya, while the accused were aligned with a rival group headed by Thota Venkataramaiah. The upcoming Panchayat elections intensified the rivalry, with Venkataramaiah allegedly aspiring to become the village sarpanch. Police suspect political jealousy and the increasing influence of Venkateswarlu in local politics as the key reasons behind the crime. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Eid wishes , messages , and quotes !
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
YSRCP leader booked for threatening police in Guntur
Vijayawada: Pattabhipuram police of Guntur district registered a case against YSRCP leader and former minister Ambati Rambabu for allegedly threatening police personnel and obstructing them from discharging their duties. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The incident occurred on Wednesday during a protest rally organised by the YSRCP in Guntur as part of their 'Backstabbers' Day' programme. According to Pattabhipuram circle inspector Venkateswarlu, Rambabu, along with a group of supporters, began a bike rally from his residence in Siddhartha Nagar, heading towards the Guntur collectorate. However, police personnel intervened and stopped the rally at the Vivekananda statue near Kothapeta junction, citing lack of prior permission. The group then diverted and resumed the protest, marching towards the Kankaragunta overbridge, where they were stopped again. Pattabhipuram inspector informed the group that permission was not granted for such a gathering, and that a large number of people could not be allowed onto the overbridge at once. This led to a heated exchange between Rambabu and the police officer. Rambabu reportedly threatened the CI, saying, "Let's see how you stop us." In response, CI Venkateswarlu warned Rambabu to mind his language and behave respectfully. It was alleged that an angry Rambabu clenched his teeth and glared at the officer in a threatening manner. Despite the confrontation, police allowed the group to proceed on foot and permitted individual vehicles to pass later. Following the incident, a case was registered under BNS section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of duty) at the Pattabhipuram police station against Ambati Rambabu and other unidentified YSRCP workers involved in the rally.
The Hindu
7 hours ago
- The Hindu
Andhra Pradesh government comes under fire for not appointing GVMC Commissioner
The NDA government has come under severe criticism over the non-appointment of a Commissioner for the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) for the past four months. Not just the members of the opposition, even some NDA leaders expressed displeasure over the GVMC not having a chief over hundred days, during the council meeting organised by the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) on Friday. Corporators of the YSRCP staged a protest in front of the Mayor's podium. They alleged sheer negligence by the NDA government over the municipal corporation. They argued that the prolonged absence of a GVMC chief has significantly disrupted the corporation's functioning. They also criticised that the non-appointment of Commissioner reflects the interest of the NDA government on Visakhapatnam. Rajya Sabha member Golla Babu Rao and YSRCP floor leader Banala Srinivasa Rao expressed dissent, stating that lack of a Municipal Commissioner is affecting the civic administration. They also found fault with burdening the District Collector with additional GVMC administration workload. They also urged the Collector to somehow dedicate two hours 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the corporation to address civic issues. Visakhapatnam North MLA P. Vishnu Kumar Raju also supported the statements of Mr. Golla Babu Rao. He said the civic body should pass a resolution seeking appointment of a Municipal Commissioner. With Visakhapatnam set to host the International Yoga Day celebrations, likely to be attended by the Prime Minister, he emphasised the urgency of having a full-time Municipal Commissioner in place to oversee preparations. Stormy affair The council meeting held on Friday, was the first for this year and also after the NDA taking over the positions of the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor. The council was stormy affair witnessing intense debates with heated arguments being exchanged between the YSRCP and the NDA leaders. YSRCP Deputy Mayor K. Satish and Mr. Banala Srinivasa Rao accused the administration of ignoring their development proposals. They alleged that projects proposed by them in their wards were excluded from the planning agenda, with preference being given to those recommended by NDA MLAs. There was strong response from the corporators from the JSP. JSP floor leader B Vasantha Lakshmi claimed that during the previous YSRCP government, proposals from certain YSRCP leaders such as K.K. Raju and V. Vijaya Sai Reddy, who held no official positions in the corporation, were given preference to those of NDA corporators. Responding to the JSP corporators, Mr. Banala Srinivasa Rao pointed out that, according to the GVMC Engineering wing, six of the 10 wards that saw the most development in the past four years were represented by TDP corporators, suggesting a balanced approach during the YSRCP's tenure. Heated arguments were exchanged when some of the YSRCP corporators questioned presence of former MLA Peela Govinda Satyanarayana in the council. They recalled that earlier, the TDP corporators questioned the presence of YSRCP MLC Varudu Kalyani in the council. The GVMC Secretary immediately clarified that Mr. Satyanarayana, now holding a post of Chairman of AP Urban Finance & Infrastructure Development Corporation, had received formal permission from the government to attend the council meeting.
