No waiting in queues at Tirumala temple from March 17

To check the spread of COVID-19, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) on Saturday said pilgrims need not wait in massive queue complexes from March 17 as time-slot tokens would be issued for darshan of Lord Balaji in the hill shrine.

Addressing reporters at Tirumala, near here, TTD Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal said, "Following the call by the Andhra Pradesh government to initiate steps to check the prevalence of coronavirus, we've contemplated some measures."

The devotees would not be allowed to sit in the compartments of queue complexes to avoid person-to-person contact.

"In the given time slots system, the pilgrims would be allowed for darshan by limiting the numbers. The devotees should bring any ID card viz Aadhaar or voter ID or driving licence along with them to get the time-slot tokens for darshan," he said.

Special counters would be set up in Tirumala and Tirupati to issue such tokens, he said.

Further, the bhoomi pooja for the construction of Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Mumbai, scheduled for April 5, has been put off following the coronavirus scare, Anil said.

Seeking divine intervention to safeguard humanity from the dreadful virus, TTD would conduct a three-day Maha Yagam, Srinivasa Shantyotsava Sahita Dhanvantari Maha Yagam, from March 19 to 21, he said.

The yagams would be held under the guidance of the chief pontiff of Visakha Sarada Peetham Swarupanandendra Saraswathi Swamy and Mantralaya Raghavendra Mutt seer Subudendratheertha Swamy, Anil added.