Tirumala: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has decided to suspend Sarva Darshan tokens at the Tirupati Balaji Temple in the wake of spike in COVID-19 cases. TTD said it is suspending the issuance of Sarva Darshan tokens at Tirupati starting April 11.
The decision comes in the backdrop of thousands of devotees waiting in queues at Bhudevi complex and Vishnu Nivasam to collect time slot tokens which increases the chance of spreading COVID-19 cases.
TTD is a trust which functions under the Andhra Pradesh government and manages several temples in the state. The gathering of devotees in large numbers at the temple has prompted the authorities to stop the issuance of tokens.
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Several other temples including the Shirdi Sai Baba temple in Maharashtra have already suspended darshans.
Coronavirus has been spreading at a virulent pace in Andhra Pradesh as at least 10 districts reported hundreds of fresh cases, totalling 2,331 in 24 hours.
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The positive cases have now shot up to 9,13,274 after 1.53 crore tests, at an overall infection positivity rate of 5.97 per cent. India today reported 1,26,789 new COVID19 cases, 59,258 discharges, and 685 deaths in the last 24 hours.
