TTD's moving platform trial for quick darshan successful

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam officials described the trial run of the ‘moving platform’ at a model temple in Alipiri in Tirumala on Thursday as successful and said that it may soon be installed at sanctum sanctorum of the main temple of Lord Venkateshwara.

The moving platform has been designed to hasten the process of darshan for the vast number of devotees who throng the famous Tirupati temple.

If implemented as planned, the project would see around 70-90 devotees having darshan of the deity per minute. The moving platform is designed to carry 12 devotees at a time.

The TTD officials had been facing complaints from the devotees that they were ungraciously shoved from the darshan spot to make way for those standing in line behind them. The platform will help the authorities to remove these complaints as the devotees would be automatically moved to make way for the next batch.

After observing Thursday’s trial run, TTD Executive Officer IYR Krishna Rao said that the management was exploring the possibilities of introducing a ‘moving platform' inside the hill temple to enable groups of devotees have a quick and comfortable darshan of the deity.

The TTD authorities had built a replica of the temple, complete with the sanctum sanctorum, to conduct the trial run.

Mr Krishna Rao told reporters that the moving platform would be installed at the main temple very soon, after holding consultations over the project with senior ‘Agama' pundits from across the country and state government officials.

The EO said that the rush of pilgrims, particularly during festivals and Brahmotsavams has led to complaints that the devotees had been shoved in an uncivilized manner. “These complaints would be addressed with the introduction of this moving platform,” Mr Krishna Rao said.

Over five lakh devotees throng the temple during peak days like festivals and Brahmotsavams, leaving the authorities facing a torrid time to clear the rush. The queues of devotees waiting for darshan of the deity run into kilometers at these peak days.