The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams has reversed its October 1 decision to allow pilgrims in limited numbers for the Navaratri Brahmotsavams set to begin from October 16.
The temple board has now announced that the events would be held sans the common public participation inside the Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala like it was organised during the annual Salakatla Brahmotsavams last month with only the VIPs in attendance.
The Brahmotsavams of Lord Venkateswara is the most prominent event on the Tirumala hill which attracts lakhs of devotees every year. Because of 'adhika maasam', there will be two Brahmotsavams this year.
The announcement came with a change in the TTD administration last week.
The newly appointed TTD Executive Officer Dr KS Jawahar Reddy said that the latest decision of organising the Navaratri Brahmotsavams too in Ekantham (solitude) “was keeping in accordance with the guidelines of Central and state governments in view of the ongoing spurt in Covid-19 cases across the country.”
Reddy, who until a few days back was Andhra Pradesh’s special chief secretary (health and family welfare), said that the decision was taken “in the health interests of the devotees” after prolonged negotiations with the TTD Chairman YV Subba Reddy, Chittoor district collector, police and senior TTD officials.
The EO also said that there is no proposal to increase the number of online darshan tickets as of now in view of the Brahmotsavam events.