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Ayodhya working with Tirumala on managing crowds
The Ram Temple Trust's collaboration with Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams draws on the latter's expertise in handling large crowds.
Hyderabad The Ram Temple Trust in Ayodhya and the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) which manages the popular Lord Venkateshwara temple in Tirumala in Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh are working together on possible crowd management solutions at the Ram Temple, officials from the two organisations said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over the pran pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla on January 22 after which the temple was opened for devotees. Since then, till February 28, close to seven million pilgrims have visited the temple with some concerns raised over crowd management.
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On February 17, a delegation of officials from TTD visited Ayodhya on an invitation from Sri Rama Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust to explain how crowds are managed at Tirumala. TTD has been a pioneer in this area, adopting technologies such as barcodes early to streamline the flow of devotees. Every day, nearly 65,000-70,000 people visit Tirumala, with crowds peaking at around 100,000 on some days like annual Brahmotsavams.
TTD executive officer AV Dharma Reddy, TTD technical advisor G Ramachandra Reddy, superintending engineer Jagadeeshwar Reddy and deputy executive engineers Babu and Nagaraj, took part in the deliberations with Ayodhya trust representatives Dr Anil Mishra, G Gopal, Jagadish Offley, Girish Sahasra Bhojani and Raghavulu, besides national secretary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad DSN Murthy on February 17.
“The TTD delegation gave a presentation to the Ayodhya trust authorities on the regulation of crowds and management of queue lines. It sought the advice of the TTD experts on the arrangements to be made to provide a satisfactory darshan to the devotees coming to the temple of Lord Ram,” a TTD official said, asking not to be named.
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He said that TTD submitted a comprehensive report to the Ayodhya temple trust on management of queue lines and facilities to be provided to the pilgrims. “The report is under the examination of the trust,” the official added.
While general secretary of the trust Champat Rai did not respond to the repeated calls and messages, trust spokesman and VHP leader Sharad Sharma said all efforts were being made for the smooth darshan of Lord Ram by the devotees.
“Since January 22 when the temple was thrown open to the public, nearly 65 lakh devotees had darshan of Lord Ram. So far, it has been smooth,” Sharma said.
Confirming that a delegation from TTD visited Ayodhya recently, Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerath Kshetra Trust member Anil Mishra said, “The Trust discussed the issue of crowd management with them. We will implement relevant suggestions of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams for crowd management at Ram Janmabhoomi.”
TTD authorities have explained to the Ayodhya temple trust that since the temple city is fast turning into a global pilgrim centre and a spiritual tourist destination, the footfall will increase sharply. “Unless a proper crowd management system is in place, it is going to be very difficult in the coming days,” the TTD official cited in the first instance added.
According to TTD executive officer AV Dharma Reddy, the average daily footfall at Tirumala temple is around 65,000-70,000, which crosses 100,000 on auspicious days such as Vaikuntha Ekadasi and Ratha Saptami.
“Yet, not a single devotee goes without having a darshan of Lord Venkateshwara. The systems in Tirumala, which have evolved over a period of decades, are perfectly in place to ensure minimum inconvenience to the pilgrims,” Reddy said.
Elaborating on the crowd management systems on Tirumala, TTD chief vigilance and security officer (CVSO) D Narasimha Kishore said 95% of the devotees coming to Tirumala are repeat visitors, which means they know the drill. To ensure a special darshan quickly, TTD makes tickets available online at least two months in advance, so that devotees can come at a specific date and time to have darshan, which they can complete within two to three hours.
For general pilgrims wishing to have “sarva darshan” (free darshan), TTD uses wrist bands with a specific time mentioned on it. “They arrive at the queue complexes meant for them at the allotted time and get darshan within two hours,” Kishore explained.
“There are special darshan timings for VIP devotees, and also those who donate money for the construction of temples,” the CVSO said.
Tirumala has built elaborate queue complexes, where the pilgrims can wait and then proceed into the temple in an orderly way. Food, water, and toilet facilities are available at these.
Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Trust functionaries contended that managing crowd in Tirumala Tirupati and Ram Janmabhoomi are different.
“Tirumala Tirupati is situated outside the city on a hill while Ram Janmabhoomi is located in the heart of Ayodhya,” said a member of the Trust who asked not to be named. He added that the Ram Mandir is still new and that it will take some time to streamline crowd management.
(With inputs from Pawan Dixit in Lucknow)
