With a series of holidays set to begin from August 11 to 15, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) authorities are anticipating a heavy influx of pilgrims to the hilltop shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala.

The TTD has appealed to pilgrims to co-operate with the TTD and plan their darshan, and accommodation well in advance.

Though the summer rush is receded, the weekend rush coupled with festive holidays expected to continue till August 19, authorities stated on Tuesday.

In addition, the auspicious month of Peratasi is also commencing from September 18 onwards and will last till October 17.

In view of this, the TTD has appealed to senior citizens, differently-abled, those with chronic diseases, parents with infants to plan their Tirumala pilgrimage after Peratasi month to avoid any sort of inconvenience.

The pilgrims will be allowed for darshan only in their specified time slots. Pilgrims have to come with preparedness and patience to wait for long hours in the compartments and in queue lines till their turn for Darshan.

The Tirumala temple of Lord Venkateswara, in Andhra Pradesh, is reputed to be the richest Hindu temple in the world and attracts thousands of devotees every day.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday directed 16 members of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), whose appointment was challenged through a PIL, to file counter affidavits.

The court was informed by counsel of the petitioner that 16 out of 18 members against whom the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed have not yet submitted their affidavits.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra took serious note of this and directed the respondents to file the affidavits by March 11.

BJP leader and former TTD board member, G. Bhanu Prakash Reddy has filed the PIL challenging the appointment of 18 board members and special invitees to the TTD. The petitioner challenged the appointments on the grounds of lack of morality as they were having pending criminal cases against them.

Last month, the court had asked counsel of the petitioner to publish notices to respondents in two newspapers stating that a PIL has been filed against their appointment as board members and they are required to file affidavits to contest the allegations.

The direction came after it was brought to the court’s notice that some members have refused to accept the notice.

The petitioner alleged that 14 of the TTD members have criminal background while appointment of four others was purely political in nature.

A total of 24 persons nominated as members of the TTD Trust Board through a Government Order dated September 15, 2021. The same day, two more GOs were issued nominating 52 persons as special invitees to the TTD Trust Board.

The same month, the High Court stayed the GOs appointing special invitees. The BJP leader, who filed the PIL against all three GOs, contended that the government had scant regard to their personal details and questioned whether they had faith in the Hindu customs and traditions followed in the world-famous temple.

The TTD manages the affairs of Sri Venkateswara temple atop Tirumala which has annual revenues of about Rs 3,000 crore.

Opposition TDP and BJP have slammed Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government for constituting 81-member Trust including the Chairman and special invitees.

Last month, the state cabinet approved an ordinance to amend the Endowments Act 1987 to allow the appointments of special invitees to TTD.

During the hearing on Tuesday, the petitioner’s counsel questioned the need for issuing an ordinance. The court suggested the petitioner file a petition challenging the ordinance.