Tirumala temple doors closed for lunar eclipse rituals

Visakhapatnam: In the wake of lunar eclipse from 9:50 pm on Sunday (Sep 7) till 1:31 am on Monday (Sep 8), the temple doors of Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirumala were closed in a traditional manner at 3:30 pm on Sunday. Speaking to the media outside the main temple, TTD trust board chairman BR Naidu said that the temple doors were closed in a ceremonious manner and will be reopened on Monday after the Shuddhi and other religious rituals at 3 pm following the lunar eclipse.Additional EO Venkaiah Chowdary said all the devotees who were in the compartments were provided darshan as per the schedule without any inconvenience. The Annaprasadam wing of TTD also prepared 50,000 pulihora packets to be distributed among devotees, as even the main annaprasadam complex, Vakulamata, PAC 2 and Vaikuntham Canteens also remains closed in Tirumala owing to the lunar eclipse. The Annaprasadam activity commences from 8 am onwards on Monday, he said.The chief priests of Tirumala temple, temple deputy EO Lokanatham, annaprasadam deputy EO Rajendra, VGO Surendra and others were present.