Srivari temple closed during lunar eclipse

Tirumala: As the lunar eclipse fell on the late hours of Thursday night as per TTD almanac, Srivari temple was closed from 5 pm on Thursday till 2.30am of Friday in Tirumala. After closing the temple doors, Tirumala JEO KS Sreenivasa Raju told mediapersons that as per TTD almanac, the lunar eclipse period begins in the late hours of April 25 and ends at 1.55 am (early hours of April 26). He said, "The temple doors would remain closed eight hours prior to the lunar eclipse and would be re-opened only after 2.30 am on April 26 (Friday)." Further, he said that arjitha sevas like suprabhatam, thomala and archana will be performed only in ekantham while abhishekam will be performed as seva. "The darshan for VIPs and rest of the pilgrims will remain as usual on Friday. While darshan will commence after 9.30 am, the pilgrims belonging to various darshan categories including foot, sarva darshan, and special entry darshan will be allowed in the compartments after 3 am on Friday", he informed.