The sacred hill temple of Lord Venkateswara will be kept out of bounds for pilgrims till May 3.
No sooner did Prime Minister Narendra Modi announce the extension of lockdown till May 3, did the top echelons of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) , after a preliminary discussion with the Chairman Y.V. Subba Reddy, took up the issue to the notice of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and resolved to extend the suspension of darshan at the hill shrine till the termination of lockdown period.
However, the daily rituals being performed inside the hill temple will be observed normally without any deviation in the laid down traditions.
On April 20, the TTD took a decision to suspend the darshan for devotees for about a week but later on, extended it till April 14 following the periodical health advisories issued by the State as well as Central governments amid the nationwide lockdown to check the spread of the COVID-19.
According to retired TTD officials, these 45 days between April 20 and May 3 will ever remain in the history of the hill temple as the longest known period wherein no devotee was permitted to worship the presiding deity.
