TTD’s experimental e-dip system draws flak

The less-than-normal assemblage witnessed astatine the Sri Venkateswara temple successful Tirumala connected the archetypal 3 days of ‘Vaikuntha Dwara Darshan’ and the abrupt spurt witnessed from the 4th time has raised questions astir assemblage absorption of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).

The e-dip strategy introduced this year, wherein darshan was allotted randomly to applicants from crossed the state and adjacent to immoderate abroad, has besides been criticised for having changed the demography of the visiting crowd.

The archetypal 3 days witnessed a footfall of 67,053 (December 30), 70,256 (December 31) and 65,225 (January 1), which are considered overmuch little than the TTD’s existent handling capableness adjacent connected thin days.

Chosen few

Govindamala devotees clad successful yellow, who scope Tirumala connected Vaikuntha Ekadasi time to relinquish their vow of abstinence, raised hue and outcry implicit the deficiency of proviso successful the computer-allotted darshan strategy to see them arsenic a team.

“Generally, devotees take to sojourn a temple, but successful the e-dip, the TTD chooses the devotees it wanted to sojourn Tirumala,” says M. Ganesan, a devotee who treks to Tirumala each twelvemonth each the mode from his location successful Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Ganesan was among the respective unfortunate devotees who could not get token nether the e-dip strategy connected the archetypal 3 days.

Lowering the bar

Andhra Pradesh State Biodiversity Board (APSBB) Chairperson N. Vijay Kumar questioned the TTD’s determination to little the barroom of its handling capableness and past assertion occurrence successful assemblage management. “The TTD’s enactment runs contrary to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s purpose of expanding pilgrim footfall by focusing connected spiritual tourism,” helium said.

YSRCP territory president and TTD spot committee erstwhile chairperson Bhumana Karunakar Reddy besides blamed the TTD for the “underperformance”, which helium attributed to the “deliberate dispersed of fear” among the devotees.

Taking enactment of the mounting criticism, particularly connected media platforms, TTD chairperson B.R. Naidu announced to sermon the aforesaid successful the forthcoming gathering of the spot committee connected January 8.