Tirupati temple management has warned devotees to avoid donating to fake organisations.
According to a report of news wire agency PTI, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Chairman B. R. Naidu on Thursday urged devotees to avoid donating to organisations spreading false claims to collect money.
Naidu cautioned that certain individuals, operating under misleading organisation names, are falsely asserting that Tirumala, Tirupati and Tiruchanoor will be declared punyakshetrams (holy places) at an event later this month.
“TTD Chairman B. R. Naidu has appealed to all devotees of Sri Venkateswara not to donate under any circumstances to organisations attempting to mislead them,” the temple board said in a press release.
He said some groups are engaging in fraudulent activities and attempting to collect donations by deceiving devotees.
TTD advised devotees to remain alert, refrain from giving money to suspicious organisations, and avoid falling victim to such scams.
The world-renowned Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple at Tirumala is among the busiest and wealthiest Hindu shrines, attracting nearly three crore pilgrims annually. As per an earlier PTI report, between November 2024 and October 2025, TTD received ₹918.6 crore in donations across its various trusts. These trusts support a range of charitable activities, including free meals for pilgrims, aid to education and healthcare, and the preservation and promotion of Vedic learning.
Meanwhile, the TTD Trust Board has discontinued offline tokens for the upcoming Vaikuntha Dwara Darshan at the Tirupati temple. The annual darshan, scheduled from December 30 to January 8, will now be managed entirely through an online system.
The decision follows last year’s stampede during the festival, which left six devotees dead and 40 injured as crowds surged for offline tokens. The incident occurred on January 8, 2024, at Bairagi Patteda near MGM School in Tirupati.
According to an official press release, darshan has been planned for eight lakh devotees over 10 days, with a strong emphasis on prioritising common pilgrims. Of the 182 total hours available for Vaikuntha Dwara Darshan, over 164 hours will be reserved exclusively for general devotees.
To further prioritise general devotees, the Rs 300 special entry darshan and Srivani darshan have been cancelled for the first three days—December 30, 31 and January 1 (2026).
From January 2 to 8, TTD will offer 15,000 special entry darshan tickets (Rs 300) and 1,000 Srivani darshan tickets daily through its online system, following the standard procedure.
Registrations for darshan tokens will be open from November 27 to December 1. Tokens will be allotted through an e-dip (electronic lottery) on December 2. The release noted that all token distribution will take place transparently via TTD’s official website, mobile app and WhatsApp services.
Residents of Tirupati and Tirumala will receive 5,000 tokens on January 6, 7 and 8 through an online first-come, first-served booking.
According to a report of news wire agency PTI, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Chairman B. R. Naidu on Thursday urged devotees to avoid donating to organisations spreading false claims to collect money.
Naidu cautioned that certain individuals, operating under misleading organisation names, are falsely asserting that Tirumala, Tirupati and Tiruchanoor will be declared punyakshetrams (holy places) at an event later this month.
“TTD Chairman B. R. Naidu has appealed to all devotees of Sri Venkateswara not to donate under any circumstances to organisations attempting to mislead them,” the temple board said in a press release.
He said some groups are engaging in fraudulent activities and attempting to collect donations by deceiving devotees.
TTD advised devotees to remain alert, refrain from giving money to suspicious organisations, and avoid falling victim to such scams.
The world-renowned Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple at Tirumala is among the busiest and wealthiest Hindu shrines, attracting nearly three crore pilgrims annually. As per an earlier PTI report, between November 2024 and October 2025, TTD received ₹918.6 crore in donations across its various trusts. These trusts support a range of charitable activities, including free meals for pilgrims, aid to education and healthcare, and the preservation and promotion of Vedic learning.
Meanwhile, the TTD Trust Board has discontinued offline tokens for the upcoming Vaikuntha Dwara Darshan at the Tirupati temple. The annual darshan, scheduled from December 30 to January 8, will now be managed entirely through an online system.
The decision follows last year’s stampede during the festival, which left six devotees dead and 40 injured as crowds surged for offline tokens. The incident occurred on January 8, 2024, at Bairagi Patteda near MGM School in Tirupati.
According to an official press release, darshan has been planned for eight lakh devotees over 10 days, with a strong emphasis on prioritising common pilgrims. Of the 182 total hours available for Vaikuntha Dwara Darshan, over 164 hours will be reserved exclusively for general devotees.
To further prioritise general devotees, the Rs 300 special entry darshan and Srivani darshan have been cancelled for the first three days—December 30, 31 and January 1 (2026).
From January 2 to 8, TTD will offer 15,000 special entry darshan tickets (Rs 300) and 1,000 Srivani darshan tickets daily through its online system, following the standard procedure.
Registrations for darshan tokens will be open from November 27 to December 1. Tokens will be allotted through an e-dip (electronic lottery) on December 2. The release noted that all token distribution will take place transparently via TTD’s official website, mobile app and WhatsApp services.
Residents of Tirupati and Tirumala will receive 5,000 tokens on January 6, 7 and 8 through an online first-come, first-served booking.
