Tirupati opens darshan slots for January, devotees to pay Rs 1cr for each ticket

Slots for darshan of Lord Venkateswara in Andhra Pradesh's Tirumala has been opened for the month of January. According to reports, 460,000 online tickets were released by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam. After remaining closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic for two years, the temple will finally allow devotees to visit the shrine.

Sarvadarshana (SSD) tokens for the month of January has been released on the official website of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) from 9 am on Monday. Devotees who want to visit the shrine have to adhere to strict COVID-19 protocols.

Ticket booking new rules

Devotees can buy tickets both in the online and offline mode for darshan of Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala.

Each ticket will cost Rs 1 crore and for Friday pilgrims will have to pay Rs 1.50 crore, according to a report.

Board plans to use the funds for three major projects, including construction of a super-speciality childrens' hospital.

On December 25, the board's website received 14 lakh visitors and the entire slot was booked within 55 minutes.

20,000 tickets released per day for January 1 and January 13 to 22 and 12,000 per day from January 2-12 and January 23-31.

Board released 5,500 virtual service tickets online for January 1, 2, 13, 22, and 26, all of which booked within minutes.

COVID-19 protocols

Board has mandated a certificate of vaccination with both doses of the COVID-19 jab or a negative report for darshan.

It implemented new guidelines amid the surge in cases while keeping in mind the increase in the number of devotees.

Authorities have directed devotees to book their tickets with Aadhaar card details.