Dip in pilgrim rush on New Year at Tirumala

Tirumala, Jan 1 (UNI) The rush of pilgrims to the Lord Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala seeking blessing in the New Year suffered a decrease with no lengthy queues and compartments holding short of capacity.

Only 11 of the 23 compartments were filled to the capacity and long queues were missing, compared to the last year.

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) had issued more than 20,000 passes including protocol, A and B passes for VIPs and others, which were cleared before 1100 hrs, a TTD official said.

The temple main doors were open at 0005 for the pre-dawn rituals besides VIP darsan.

Befitting the occasion, the presiding deity was adorned with precious jewels including the diamond studded golden crown, kati and abhaya hastam and the antique 'Makara Kanti Haram'.

The interiors of the temple was decorated with flowers donated by devotees from various states.

According to sources, the TTD netted Rs 1.85 crore as hundi collection on New Year.

UNI