THE SILENT SHRINES
With the country in the grip of the coronavirus and a lockdown extended thrice, even the gods are feeling a little deprived. In Tirumala, easily India’s most popular religious shrine, with some 80,000 pilgrims visiting it daily before the lockdown, the deity, Lord Venkateshwara, stopped giving darshan from March 21 as Covid fears rose. But denying access to the devout comes at a very high price. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), managers of India’s richest Hindu temple, lose nearly Rs 7 crore a day from the hundi collection, accommodation and sale of tickets, not to mention the delectable prasad of the Tirumala laddoos. If the Covid-related restrictions continue through June, the TTD could stand to lose close to Rs 600 crore.
The TTD, though, can dip into its reserves without much of a dent to its Rs 3,030 crore budget for 2020-21. Other less resourceful shrines may not be as fortunate, and with the summer months of peak pilgrim inflow passing by, there is cause for worry. Telangana rose to the challenge by starting online facilities at 19 temples from April 17 onward. Devotees can access the Telangana or of choice. A confirmation message is then sent. Some temple authorities are also uploading video clips of the rituals on YouTube. As of now, they do not have many takers, but temple managements believe this is the way of the future.
