Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday offered a set of new silk cloths at the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala on the occasion of the ongoing nine day Brahmotsavam festival, that began on September 19. The Chief Minister arrived on the hills this evening.

Later, Reddy, as per tradition, carried the cloths kept on a silver plate on his head and handed it over to the priests and officials of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, which governs the shrine, a temple official said. He also offered prayers to the presiding deity of Lord Venkateswara.

With strict COVID-19 precautions, the Brahmotsavam is being conducted with no processions of the Lord, he said. Devotees too have been barred from participating in the fest, a first in the history of the temple, he told PTI.

However, a limited number of about 12,000 devotees are being allowed for worship into the shrine since it was reopened for public on June 11 following two and a half month long COVID-19 lockdown, the official said. He said Reddy and Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa would on Thursday morning jointly lay the foundation stones for two massive pilgrims complexes, to be constructed by TTD at a total estimated cost of about Rs 200 crore.

The Karnataka government is financing the construction, for the benefit of devotees visiting the Holy Hills from that state, he added..