It is well-known that in the recently concluded state assembly elections, the TDP emerged victorious and formed the government. Amidst this, a piece of news is circulating on social media that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s first reform after taking office pertains to senior citizen darshan in Tirumala. The claim states that Naidu has arranged two specific time slots for senior citizens’ darshan, at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. (here & here). This article fact-checks the validity of this claim.
Claim: Chandrababu Naidu has arranged two specific time slots for senior citizens’ darshan in Tirumala, at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Fact: Currently, there is only one dedicated slot for the special darshan of senior citizens in Tirumala. This slot is reserved from Monday to Saturday at 3 PM. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were two slots for senior citizens, which were subsequently reduced to one. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
No reports indicate that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu announced any reforms or decisions related to senior citizens’ darshan in Tirumala after swearing in as the CM. Currently, there is only one dedicated time slot for senior citizens, differently-abled individuals, and medical cases.
According to the information on the TTD website, a special slot for senior citizens, differently-abled individuals, and medical cases is reserved from Monday to Saturday at 3 PM. Only 1000 people can avail themselves of this special darshan each day. This clarifies that the news about Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu arranging two slots for senior citizens lately is not true.
In response to the viral news, TTD has clarified that misleading information about special entrance darshan for senior citizens has been circulating on social media for some time and is not entirely true. TTD further clarified that, as of date, only one time slot is dedicated to senior citizen darshan at 3:00 PM.
Additionally, from our correspondence with the TTD helpdesk, we learned that before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were two slots for senior citizens, which were discontinued afterwards. According to the information provided by the helpdesk, an archive search revealed that the TTD website, as of December 2014, listed two dedicated time slots for special admission darshan for senior citizens at 10 AM and 3 PM.
A travel blog written in 2012 also mentions two slots for senior citizens’ darshan. This indicates that the provision of two slots for elderly darshan existed for a long time and is not related to Chandrababu Naidu’s recent return to power.
To sum up, currently, only one dedicated slot is available for the special darshan of senior citizens in Tirumala.
