A record 7.83 lakh devotees had ‘Vaikuntha Dwara Darshan’ in Tirumala

The 10-day ‘Vaikuntha Dwara Darshan’ organised at the Tirumala temple from December 30 to January 8 has emerged as a defining chapter in the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams’ (TTD) administrative history, drawing widespread appreciation from devotees for its scale, efficiency and execution.

Addressing the media in Tirumala, TTD Chairman B.R. Naidu said the arrangements had evoked an unprecedented level of satisfaction among pilgrims, marking a clear advance over previous years, and had also muted the critics’ comments that the innovative ‘e-dip’ system was a failure.

During the festival period, 7.83 lakh devotees were facilitated darshan of Lord Venkateswara – nearly one lakh more than those who had darshan during the previous celebrations (6.83 lakh pilgrims).

Remarkably, January 3 recorded the highest footfalls (89,000), while January 2, despite being a weekday, witnessed darshan for about 83,000 pilgrims.

The temple’s hundi collections stood at ₹41.14 crore. The sale of Srivari laddus touched 44 lakh, registering an increase of over 10 lakh compared to the previous year. Annadanam reached 33 lakh devotees, which was 9.29 lakh or 39% more than last year.

A key highlight was the extensive use of Artificial Intelligence through the Integrated Command and Control Centre, which enabled real-time monitoring of crowd movement and facilitated faster darshan even for pilgrims without tokens. Nearly 93% of devotees expressed satisfaction with the overall arrangements.

Security and sanitation were accorded equal priority, with around 2,400 police personnel and 1,150 vigilance staff deployed. Continuous cleanliness drives ensured hygienic queue lines, roads and public utilities, while mobile dispensaries operated round-the-clock in darshan queues and Narayanagiri sheds. About 4,000 Srivari Seva volunteers assisted pilgrims throughout the period.

Befitting the grand festival and enhancing its spiritual ambience, the temple was adorned with 50 tonnes of traditional flowers, 10 tonnes of fruits and four tonnes of cut flowers.

TTD Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal noted that the surge in pilgrim numbers extended beyond Tirumala to TTD-run temples across the country, as over 12 lakh footfalls were recorded this year when compared to a meagre 7 lakh last time.

TTD Additional EO Venkaiah Chowdary said that effective inter-departmental coordination and optimum utilisation of time helped in enabling more number of devotees have smooth and comfortable darshan.