Better facilities await Tirumala pilgrims

The temple management of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, along with the Indian Railways, have decided to provide better facilities to devotees visiting Titupati from across the country.

Addressing media at Tirupati on Friday, TTD chairman Kanumuri Baapiraju said: “Tirupathi being the highest revenue grosser, they have planned to construct a foot over bridge connecting Vishnu Nivasam and Railway station and asked the concerned officials to prepare and submit the design of the plan in 15 days to Railway DRM office.” The DRM will take decision in another two weeks time after observing the designs, he added.

A TTD information centre will also come up in the Railway station soon to provide necessary information regarding accommodation, darshan and other facilities. Railway e-Ticket counters will also be set up in Srinivasam, Vishnunivasam and SV Guest house for the pilgrims will be built.

Bapiraju said Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy will lay the foundation stone to the pucca houses meant for the Tirumala displaced families on April 22. He will also lay the foundation to a sub-way to be constructed between the Srinivasam Complex and the RTC bus stand in Tirupati.

No priority darshan for VIPs at Tirumala

TIRUMALA: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Trust Board has decided to withdraw the intervention of government department official machinery to conduct Kalyanamasthu programme in the state. They have decided to conduct ‘Nitya Kalyanamasthu’ at only 11 important temples including Srisailam, Yadagirigutta, Basara, Vemulavada, Dwaraka Tirumala, Mangalagiri, Arasavelli, Annavaram, Kanaka Durga temple and in Tirumala in association with the endowments ministry.
Briefing newsmen about the deliberations of the board meeting which met here on Tuesday, TTD chairman Kanumuri Bapiraju said “we are not winding up Kalyanamasthu, but the TTD will conduct mass marriages in state without violations or deviations of the customary marriage ceremony.’’
Another important decision the board has taken is to drop the existing priority and top-priority system in VIP break darshan from Wednesday and a new system will be announced in the next meeting. Till then the old VIP break darshan system with an entry fee of Rs 500 would be continued.
‘‘We have reviewed the ongoing civil works particularly Kalyanamandapams and instructed the engineering department to complete the construction work on or before June,’’ the TTD chairman said and added that the Board has entrusted the publication stall at Bangalore Information Centre to Ramakrishna Mission.
The Board has resolved to renovate the Antharvedi Neela Kanteswaraswamy temple, Bapiraju said and added that the Board has also decided to take over the Koneti Venkataraya temple  in Chittoor district.
The Board, in Tuesday’s meeting found a solution to the decade-long problem of rehabilitation of the homeless from Tirumala and allotted `3,80,000 for construction of houses at Mangalam near Tirumala Nagar. This will benefit 151 families evacuated from Tirumala.
Contract lecturers in the TTD educational institutions will be eligible for timescale for which the Board has taken a decision in the last meeting. Accordingly, the wages of the contract teachers working in the TTD schools will also be hiked.

Sree Sita Rama Kalyanam - Bhadrachalam

clothes given by bapiraju