Coronavirus spooks pilgrim traffic to temples in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Coronavirus spooks pilgrim traffic to temples in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana

Hindustan Times, Hyderabad | By
Mar 17, 2020 06:32 PM IST

The governments in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and temple authorities in the two states are taking steps to minimise the congregation of devotees.

The threat of coronavirus has cast its shadow on the pilgrim traffic in the Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and disrupted daily rituals in temples across the two states.

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams has been regulating pilgrims inflow into the famed Tirumala temple by allotting time slot tokens to pay obeisance to Lord Venkateshwara.(PTI File Photo)
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams has been regulating pilgrims inflow into the famed Tirumala temple by allotting time slot tokens to pay obeisance to Lord Venkateshwara.(PTI File Photo)

For the first time in the history of the popular shrine of Sita Rama Swamy at Bhadrachalam in Bhadradri Kothagudem district of Telangana, the state government on Tuesday banned devotees at the celestial wedding of Ram and Sita on the occasion of Sri Ram Navami scheduled for April 2.

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Five people in Telangana have tested positive for coronavirus and one in Andhra Pradesh.

“For several decades, thousands of pilgrims from across the country have been attending Sita Rama Kalyanam, the wedding of Rama and Sita, at Bhadrachalam. However, this time, we have decided against allowing any devotees to witness the celestial wedding on account of the directions from the Centre to avoid public congregations due to coronavirus threat,” transport minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar announced at a press conference in Khammam.

The Sita Rama Kalyanam is generally held at the sprawling ground in front of the main temple to enable a large number of devotees witness the colourful event. The temple authorities make elaborate arrangements for the pilgrims.

“This year, it has been decided to confine the Kalyanam to the temple premises and it will be a low-key affair with only priests and temple authorities attending the event,” Kumar said.

State government’s advisor (culture, tourism and endowments) K V Ramanachary will now supervise the Sita Rama Kalyanam on behalf of the government.

The minister said the temple authorities have been instructed to stop all ticket sales for Kalyanam this year. “Those who have already booked their tickets online will get a refund of their money,” he said.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which manages the country’s richest temple of Lord Venkateshwara at Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh and its associated temples across the country, also announced restriction of devotees from witnessing Sri Rama Kalyanam at its Ontimitta temple in Kadapa district.

The TTD has been regulating pilgrims inflow into the famed Tirumala temple by allotting time slot tokens to pay obeisance to Lord Venkateshwara from the midnight Tuesday.

“This will facilitate pilgrims having walk-in darshan of Lord Venkateshwara in the allotted time slot,” TTD executive officer A K Singhal said and appealed to devotees to take advantage of the facility by coming for darshan only at the appointed time.

The restrictions resulted in sharp reduction in footfalls in Tirumala. As against an average footfall of 65,000 to 70,000, the temple witnessed only 55,827 pilgrims on Monday.

The authorities at the other famous temples like Srisailam in Kurnool district, Sri Kalahasti in Chittoor district and Kanaka Durga temple in Vijayawada also cancelled all major rituals that attract huge number of devotees.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Srinivasa Rao is Senior Assistant Editor based out of Hyderabad covering developments in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana . He has over three decades of reporting experience.

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