Now, passengers arriving at the Tirupati international airport can book darshan tickets of Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirumala by instantly donating to the SRIVANI Trust. This facility, soon to be extended by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), will obviate the need for the unscheduled visitors to run behind touts for securing the ticket in the black market.
Sri Venkateswara Alaya Nirmana (SRIVANI) Trust was formed by the TTD in 2019 to repair and renovate dilapidated temples by accepting donations. A donor paying ₹10,000 to the Trust is given a VIP break darshan ticket as a token of appreciation of his/her benefaction.
Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) came forward with a proposal to the TTD to set up a current ticket booking counter at the airport last month, which will soon accept donation for SRIVANI Trust and provide break darshan tickets. Since the premium tickets were hitherto available only at Tirumala or online, it has been decided to extend the same to the passengers on arrival. This, the TTD and APTDC authorities believe, will not only encourage people to donate to temple renovation, but also introduce an element of certainty in the itinerary of the visiting public.
Member of Parliament (Tirupati) M. Gurumoorthy, who has taken up a series of measures to improve tourism potential in and around Tirupati, hailed the TTD and APTDC for the initiative and promised to bring in more flights to Tirupati under UDAN scheme.
Passenger footfall
The airport received an increased passenger footfall of 88,023 in December last year, which phenomenally rose from 63,591 in November, notwithstanding the Omicron threat. With darshan being the prime objective behind one’s Tirupati visit, Dr. Gurumoorthy asserts that the initiative of offering SRIVANI tickets at the airport will make more passengers prefer air travel.
