The emergency meeting of the TTD board of trustees on Sunday resolved to confine ‘Vaikuntha dwara’ darshanam only for two days -- Vaikunta Ekadasi (January 6) and Dwadasi (January 7).
Briefing the media, TTD Chairman Y.V. Subba Reddy said that the board discussed the issue threadbare and decided to continue the existing tradition in its true spirit for this year.
A high-level committee with the TTD Additional Executive Officer as convener and a select few trustees with religious bent of mind as its members will be constituted shortly who in turn will hold consultations with renowned spiritual leaders over the issue of extending the Vaikunta Dwara darshanam for ten days.
The emergency meeting was necessitated following the orders of High Court which directed the TTD to make know its opinion with regard to the extending of Vaikunta Dwara darshanam for ten days on or before January 6. The court issued the directive while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by an advocate Tallapaka Raghavan last week.
Laddu provision
In the same vein, the board also resolved to go ahead with the proposal of providing one free laddu to every devotee having the darshan of Lord Venkateswara which Mr. Reddy said would come into force from January 20.
“The main intention behind the proposal is to extend the facility of providing one free laddu, which at present is confined only to those reaching the town on foot, to every pilgrim having the darshan at the hill temple. Pilgrims seeking additional laddus will have to purchase them at the existing selling price of ₹50 each,” he said.
