The home minister Sabita Indrareddy visited Tirumala and sought the blessings of Lord Sri Venkateshwara Swamy today during VIP darshan. She was handed over the prasadam of Srivaru at Ranganayaka mantapam. Notably, Sabita Indrareddy took the pedestrian path to reach Tirumala. After she sought the blessings of the deity, she spoke to the media. She has said that outer corridor would be constructed at Tirumala to ensure safety to the region. She has also said that stringent disciplinary action would be taken in case police department doesn't follow the discipline and order.  Earlier, Sabita Indrareddy said that kalibaata (pedestrian path to Tirumala) would be strengthened (in terms of security) besides strengthening security in and around shrine.

The proposed outer security corridor covers the entire Tirumala. It may be recalled that the TTD has already decided to set up inner security corridor wherein thick wire fences not less than ten feet high would be set up around madaveedulu (four streets encircling the temple). Already,  TTD granted Rs. 2.95 crore for setting up the inner corridor. And now government is all set to set up outer corridor. All in all, it's a good move by both TTD and government, said observers. It may be noted that intelligence sources earlier told the state that there's a possible security threat to Tirumala since it's the biggest pilgrimage centre in the country.

(AW Phani)