TTD to issue 8,000 special quota tickets tomorrow

Tirumala: TTD chairman YV Subba Reddy said 8,000 online quota of special entry darshan (SED) tickets will be released at 9 am on September 24.

While an equal number of 8,000 Time Slotted Sarva Darshan (SSD) free darshan tokens will also be released next day online at 9am (September 25) for the period from September 26 to October 31.

In a statement here on Wednesday, Subba Reddy said following the releasing of SSD free darshan tokens online, TTD will stop the issuance of offline tokens in Tirupati with effect from September 26.

Keeping in view the pandemic still prevalent in the pilgrim city, the decision to issue SSD tokens online only was taken for the health safety of the locals in the pilgrim city, devotees and the staff, he explained.

He said as the overcrowding at SSD token issuing centres earlier had allegedly become a source for the spread of pandemic Covid during the second wave, TTD decided to dispense with the offline-issuing of the tokens.

The TTD chairman appealed the devotees coming with online special entry tickets or SSD tokens should posses either 2-dose vaccination certificates or should come with Covid (negative) test report that was taken three days before reporting for darshan and urged the devotees to strictly adhere to Covid guidelines for their personal benefit as well others and cooperate with TTD management.

It may be noted here that the offline issuing of SSD tokens which was stopped following the Covid cases reaching its peak in Chittoor district during the second wave of the pandemic in April second week this year was resumed with limited number of 2,000 tokens only to people of Chittoor district on September 8 this month.

After severe criticism and demand from various sections, TTD increased it to 8,000 and extended the token facility to all devotees for free darshan from September 18 and subsequently decided to issue the SSD token online.