The temple of Lord Venkateswara here has been spruced up for the nine-day annual Brahmotsavams scheduled to begin from Thursday.
For the second year in a row, the event, which normally attracts lakhs of devotees from across the country, will be observed in ‘ekantham’ (private) amid fears of a possible COVID-19 third wave.
All the religious celebrations relating to the festival will be confined to the inner portals of the temple.
The two-time ‘vahana sevas’ that form the core part of the festival will be performed between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. every day inside the temple.
The festival will take off to a ceremonious start with ‘Dwajarohanam’ on Thursday. The auspicious ‘Garuda seva’ is on October 11 and the ‘Sarva bhupala vahana seva’ will substitute both the Golden Chariot (October 12) and ‘Rathotsavam’ (October 14).
The festival will climax with ‘Chakrasnanam’ on October 15 at a make-shift water pond at Ayana Mahal inside the temple.
Jagan’s visit
Addressing the media, TTD Chairman Y.V. Subba Reddy said Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy would offer the ‘silk vastrams’ on the eve of ‘Garuda seva’ and also inaugurate the newly constructed Gosala, boondi complex and paediatric cardiac hospital.
TTD Executive Officer K.S. Jawahar Reddy appealed to the devotees to strictly abide by the COVID-19 protocols during their stay in Tirumala.
The Alipiri footpath, which was recently renovated at a whopping cost of ₹25 crore, would be thrown open for public use during the festival.
‘Break darshan’
Additional Executive Officer A.V. Dharma Reddy said the ‘break darshan’ would be in vogue on all the festival days, except on the day of ‘Chakrasnanam’.
He said a buffer stock of 3 lakh to 3.5 lakh laddus would be maintained during the entire festival period, and there would be minimum deployment of police force from outside.
