TTD Defends Transparency of Srivani Online Ticket Booking System
Tirumala, May 17 (TNT): Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has reiterated that the Srivani online ticket booking system for the world-famous Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple functions in a completely transparent and automated manner without any human intervention.
In a statement, TTD clarified that the online Srivani ticket booking platform, launched in May 2019 in collaboration with IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) continues to operate on a “first-come, first-served” basis.
TTD stated that the earlier offline system, under which tickets were issued daily in Tirumala, was modified based on requests from devotees seeking a more accessible online mechanism.
According to the temple administration, thousands of devotees attempt to secure Srivani tickets every day, resulting in tickets being locked within the first one-and-a-half minutes for users who access the application earliest.
Final allotment is then completed for those who successfully finish the payment process through the payment gateway.
The TTD explained that if any payment transaction fails due to technical issues or lack of confirmation from the payment gateway, those tickets are automatically returned to the general pool after approximately ten minutes and made available again for booking.
Officials said this mechanism is similar to systems followed by services such as Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation and other government advance reservation platforms.
The temple body stressed that the entire process is software-driven and fully automated, leaving no scope for manual interference.
TTD also stated that features such as “auto-filling” and “copy-paste” have been completely disabled in the booking process to ensure equal opportunity for all devotees attempting to secure tickets online.
Further, the administration noted that all TTD digital systems undergo annual audits through AP Technology Services.
Responding to allegations raised by former TTD Chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy during a press conference, the temple administration said the booking demonstration was carried out without a full understanding of the system’s technical functioning.
According to TTD, during the attempted booking, the transaction reportedly reached the payment gateway stage but failed due to insufficient funds in the account used for payment. When another attempt was made, the system automatically treated it as a fresh booking request, by which time other users had already moved ahead in the queue.
TTD maintained that such technical nuances are standard in automated online booking systems and are best understood by IT professionals familiar with payment gateway integration and queue management systems.
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