Hyderabad: Tirumala darshan requests flood Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation in city amid holiday rush

Hyderabad : With no online darshan slots available for Tirumala visit, the Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC), was flooded with requests from devotees for darshan of Lord Venkateshwara Swamy as the officials said the devotees will have to book a slot one week in advance to confirm the slots in the wake of increasing summer holidays rush.

The Tourism Corporation provides different tour packages for the devotees depending upon the number of days and the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has provided 300 darshan slots every day to the Corporation.

According to officials, ever since the summer vacations began all the 300 slots are being booked by the devotees. Every day three to four A/c Volvo buses with a capacity of 43 persons in each are being operated from Hyderabad. The number of inquiries has increased during the last fortnight as the devotees are planning to finish off the trip by May end or early June before the schools begin, said a senior official.

As soon as the TTD authorities release the quota for darshan every month through online, all the slots are full within minutes. Earlier, the TTD used to have Sheeghra Darshan facility to the devotees at TTD Kalyana Mandapam at Liberty. People used to book the slots well in advance and plan the trip accordingly. However, this facility was scrapped during the Covidpandemic and is yet to be restored. The devotees are now demanding the TTD authorities to start this facility again in the city.

H Shashikanth said that the facility at Liberty was convenient for a planned trip. Now we have to book online and we are not sure whether we will get enough slots,” said Shashikanth.

For Tirumala, the Corporation provides a package of Rs 3,700 per head for adults and Rs 2,960 for children. The three days package covers Tirupati, Tirumala, Tiruchanur. The departure is scheduled at 5.30 pm and the passengers reach Tirupati at 6 am. For a four days package the cost is around Rs 4,400 for adults and Rs 3,520 for children.

The Corporation also provides packages with flights. The one day flight package cost Rs 11,499 per head and Rs 14,499for two days, two days package along with local sight seeing costs Rs 15,499 per head. The Corporation provides breakfast for one day package and three-time meal for two day package.

Tourism Corporation MD B Manohar said that the number of passengers has gone up thanks to the summer vacations. The only thing is that the devotees should plan one week prior for the visit.