Taking a leaf out of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams’ (TTD) experience, the Kanaka Durga temple authorities have chalked out plans to replicate the former’s Sudarsanam token system here. If their plans go according to schedule, ‘Kanaka Durga tokens’ will be issued to the devotees by this month-end or from the first week of March.
Sri Durga Malleswara Swamyvarla Devasthanam has roped in an agency to issue tokens to the devotees. The agency will capture the iris of the devotee or take a digital photo. The devotees can enter the queue lines at the time indicated on the tokens. When contacted, Kanaka Durga Temple Executive Officer A. Surya Kumari said the proposed system would allow the devotees to plan their programme to visit the temple and others in the vicinity. The temple would not pay any amount to the agency— Trilok —to issue the tokens. It would generate its own revenue by printing advertisements of the Government of India, etc., on the token, she said.
Middlemen out
The agency would install scanners, cameras etc, required for the tokens. The temple would provide it the necessary place. The token system was planned in a systematic way to avoid wastage of time. The system eliminates middlemen and involvement of touts, if any. There were plans to issue the Kanaka Durga tokens online also, she said.
The devotees pass through five queue lines that run parallel to have darshan of the presiding deity. The devotee rush touches 40,000 on Fridays, Sundays and public holidays. The average turnout is around 20,000 a day. The rush crosses one lakh on occasions like Moola Nakshastram during Dasara festivities.
On an average, 10,000 devotees per hour have darshan of the deity on Moola Nakshatram. About 10 lakh people visit the temple during Dasara every year. The crowd swells during Bhavani deeskha viramana also. As many as 2,86,30,600 devotees purchased Rs. 100 tickets up to September 2016; 1,17,46,800 people purchased Rs. 300 tickets; while 13,09,000 preferred Rs. 500 tickets. The temple authorities have done away with the Rs. 20 ticket, which was most sought after some time ago.