Telangana Tourism seeks Tirumala kalyana seva facility for devotees

Hyderabad: After getting a good response for the Sheegra Darshan of Lord Venkateshwara Swamy in Tirumala for those who book tickets through the Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC), the Tourism authorities have now requested the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) to allocate Kalyanotsavam Seva with increased queries from the passengers.

According to the officials, after easing out the Covid restrictions, the Tourism Development Corporation had started its customised package tour to Tirupati and the response has been overwhelming. The officials said that from 35 to 40 passengers in the beginning, their number has increased to 350 thanks to the quota granted by the TTD authorities. The pilgrims availing the air travel have also increased. The number which was on an average 20 flight passengers has doubled these days, a senior official said.

The official said that there were two packages including road and air travel. For a multi-axle a/c bus, the cost per passenger would be Rs 3,700 (for adults) and Rs 2,960 for children. The 3 nights, 2 days tour covers Tirupati, Tirumala, Tiruchanur, Srikalahasti, Kanipakam, Srinivasa Mangapuram and Kapila Teertham. The two-day package through air ticket is likely to cost Rs 14,499 per head. The package price is likely to change as per the ticket price in the air carriers pricing. The two-day package includes darshan, local sightseeing near Tirumala on the first day and on the second day visit to Kanipakam, Padmavathi Temple, Srikalahasti temple.

After the success, now the tourism authorities are seeking extension of the services and wanted the Kalyanotsavam to be added to the list. The Telangana Tourism Corporation Chairman U Srinivas Gupta said that the response has been good for these two packages from the devotees. The devotees need to book their tickets in advance at least seven days prior to the journey time since rescheduling the package is allowed within seven days of departure. "We have been getting a large number of requests for Seva like Kalyanotsavam from the devotees. We have also sought from the TTD authorities whether they can allocate the slots for the benefit of the devotees," said Srinivas Gupta.