Tirumala turns into ocean of flowers for Pushpa Yagam November 13, 2010 18:38
Thousands of devotees lined up on the seven hills of the Tirumala on Saturday November 13 to offer abundance of flowers and garlands to the Lord of the Hills Sri Venkateswara Swamy on the auspicious occasion of the annual Srivari PushpaYagam.On the first day of the Yagam, 600 kg of flowers have been used only for decorating the deity of the Lord, said S.Srinivas, temple gardens director. Some devotees have sent flowers to the lord from Nepal and Bangkok also for floral decorations. Pushpa Yagam has almost turned the entire Tirumala into a sea of flowers sending waves of fragrance to each and every devotee. “The fragrance of flowers also spread peace and tranquility among nearly one lakh devotees who throng the temple shrine every day” said Mr. Sathyanarayana, Chairman of the Specified Authority of the TTD.
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TTD adopted principle of Bio-Metrics November 07, 2010 14:55
As part of its efforts to curb blackmarketeering and other malpractices in the sale of the much-sought-after "Arjitha Seva'' (paid seva) tickets, the TTD has adopted the principle of bio-metrics, an emerging branch of science', to operate the ticket counters.Under the system, the thumb impression of the pilgrims who buy the tickets to attend the sevas in the Tirumala hill temple, such as Suprabhatham, Thomala Seva, Archana, PKU and SD Seva, are recorded at the counters and digitally transmitted to the Vaikuntam queue complex, entry point into the temple. When the ticket-holder produces his ticket at the queue complex, his thumb impression will be verified. Unless it tallied, the pilgrim will not be allowed to enter the temple.Such a foolproof system had become imperative to check the touts. A Rs. 100 seva ticket is sold by them for a for a hefty Rs.500 or Rs.600 on peak days.The system has been introduced in the current booking counter of Vijaya Bank, Tirumala, which has been selling the seva tickets on behalf of the TTD for the last several years.Depending on the success of the system, it would be introduced in the general darshan queue also, replacing the "Sudarsanam'' token system. This would gradually be extended to major cities and all district headquarter towns of the State.
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7 Hills becoming as Suicide spot. October 23, 2010 10:07
In a shocking incident, 4 members of a family committed suicide in the room of a guest house near Guruva Reddy Samadulu in Tirupati on Friday.The reasons behind the suicide pact are yet to be ascertained, according to East Tirupati sub-inspector Niranjan.Niranjan said that the 4 were identified as Satish (40), his wife Shilpa (35) and their son and daughter, both around 12.The family had taken the extreme step after visiting the hill shrine temple Lord Venkateshwara in Tirupati. They hailed from Davangere in Karnataka.The family had returned to Room no. 107 in Lakshmi Residency Guest House near Guruva Reddy Samadulu in Tirupati, and is believed to have consumed insecticide mixed in a soft drink.The staff of the Guest House became suspicious that something was amiss when their repeated knocks on the room door did not evoke any response from inside.The staff informed the police who rushed to the spot and broke open the door and found the bodies.The police found a suicide note in the room which stated that no one was responsible for their deaths. The note also added that if any ex-gratia is announced by the government, it must be transferred to some charities in Karnataka.The police shifted the bodies to hospital for autopsies.A case has been registered and further investigations are on to ascertain the reason behind their drastic step.
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Special darshan restricted on Tirumala January 13, 2011 14:58
To allot more darshan time to common pilgrims on Tirumala, the TTD administration has decided to reduce the issue of special darshan tickets from 12 hours to 8 hours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Normally, the issue of special darshan tickets takes place from 6 AM to 6 PM but now the these tickets would be issued only from 6 AM to 2 PM. Special darshan tickets are sold for Rs.300. TTD Executive Officer IVR Krishna rao told media representatives last night that the rush of pilgrims has increased abnormally on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and the administration has decided to allot more time to common pilgrims who opt for Laghu Darshan on those two days. The EO said that the administration has been undertaking a campaign to create awareness to keep the temple town neat and clean. Through this campaign, the TTD officials will strive to bring awareness among hoteliers, shop owners, employees of TTD and private establishments and also among the pilgrims to see that plastic bags and covers are not used on the Tirumala hills.
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‘Round-the-clock’ Security is must for Tirumala: JE March 22, 2011 19:44
Mr.N.Yuvaraj, Joint Executive Officer has emphasized that there is a need to provide round-the-clock security at the abode of Lord Venkateswara. Speaking to the security personnel who recently completed the training program organized by SV Employees Training Academy on Monday, execute duties on devotion and take the special care of visitors. He said that, there is a special view on the development of Tirumala the hill town and the temple of the Lord Venkateswara. Mr Yuvaraj said to the media persons, 35 recruits to be prepared for the intensified training which is going to be conduct in Security Training Academy Chilamattur soon. Vigilance and Security Officer of TTD M.K. Singh informed to security of Tirumala, there is a most importance to developments of Tirumala as the entire world is watching.
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Fake Tirumala Laddu siezed October 03, 2010 15:43
The pieces looked no different in size or shape from the famous ‘Tirumala laddus', but instead of the aroma of sweet ghee, the product reeked of a foul odour.For Radhamma and Manikyamma of STV Nagar, preparing fake laddus has been a regular practice for the last 15 years, while Gouri, Nagaraju and three others form the marketing arm. They prepare around 500 laddus at one go, fill them in aluminium/plastic buckets and transport them to APSRTC bus station and railway station areas for selling them to the gullible pilgrims at the rate of Rs.10 each.The latter, normally in a hurry to board a train or bus, buy a couple of them mistaking them to be ‘Prasadam'.However, this Friday proved to be inauspicious for the foursome as the TTD's vigilance sleuths nabbed them at the tourist bus station in Alipiri. Anticipating heavy rush for the ‘Purattasi Saturdays', a vow observed by Tamil devotees on Saturdays of this Tamil month of Purattasi by wearing yellow robes and applying Namam, Nagaraju and Gouri converged at the bus stand as early as 3 a.m. with the intention of selling off the laddus before dawn, obviously to escape the eyes of the vigilance guards or the local cops.“We lay in wait in the guise of devotees for the last two days and pounced on them today,” Srinivasa Rao, TTD's Assistant Vigilance and Security Officer, who supervised the job, told The Hindu. R. Geethanjali, health officer of Municipal Corporation of Tirupati (MCT), rushed to the spot and inspected the seized laddus.The accused were handed over to Alipiri police, where the Sub-Inspector Subba Reddy booked a case.
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TTD: registered societies to replace recruiting agencies April 20, 2011 16:31
Workers engaged on contract basis to render services in the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) are no more dependent on the agencies recruiting them for monthly pay and allied benefits such as Employee Provident Fund and ESI, which they have genuinely earned. As many as 4,000 outsourced workers in various departments such as security, temple kitchen, food service (Annadanam), etc. have formed themselves into registered societies as the result of which their wages are directly credited into bank accounts. With 1,400 guards on contract, the major chunk goes to the security department. The step follows complaints that the recruiting agencies are failing to pay the salary and make the mandatory allocations. Steps were taken by the officials to remove the manpower providers and put societies in their place, only after it dawned on them that the accusing finger would not point to the tainted recruiter, but the hirer – the TTD in this case. As this will need coordination and constant monitoring, an assistant executive officer has been appointed to oversee the ‘changeover' from outsourcing to society setup. “The transition is expected to be smooth as the registration of societies and the election of the respective presidents and secretaries is on,” Executive Officer I.Y.R. Krishna Rao told media persons here on Tuesday. It took almost a year for the idea to take a concrete shape, he said. Constant monitoring The health of the societies would be constantly monitored by holding meetings with the stakeholders and by training them in the nuances of running the bodies in a hassle-free manner, the Chief Vigilance and Security Officer M.K. Singh said. He, however, hastened to add that the workers would run the societies independently. Hindu Dharma Prachara Parishat secretary Kasireddy Venkata Reddy and Public Relations Officer T. Ravi were present.
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TTD has restricted the movement of trekkers during nights August 17, 2010 19:48
A leopard has struck in a human habitation in the early hours of Monday — the BTR Colony in Mangalam village skirting the Tirumala hills on the outskirts of the city. As news of a goat being mauled to death spread, panic-stricken residents of the colony, which was earlier an extended jungle abutting the reserve forest, made a beeline to the spot and saw the carcass lying amid bushes.Forest officials, however, believe that it must be a different animal frequenting the area between Kapila Theertham and Karakambadi Reserve Forests and not the one sighted on the trekking route.Chief Conservator of Forests (Tirupati Wildlife Management Circle) P. Mallikharjuna Rao has also rejected the residents' plea to erect a trap cage to catch the big cat, indicating that it was moving only in the sanctuary area, which is its own habitat. “The leopard is not moving into the human habitation, but it is the other way round,” he said, “mere presence of a leopard is no cause for alarm.” However, he cautioned the residents against venturing into the deep woods.The media, which has been religiously reporting ‘movements' of the leopard for the past few days, dashed off to the colony and started airing the news live, adding to the chaos. The media also reported sighting of a leopard near the GNC area (entry point to Tirumala hills) and another one near Srivarimettu and Bhakarapet ghat, both on the Tirupati-Anantapur highway. The first leopard was found to be the one eluding capture, given the spot's proximity to the areas where its pugmarks were found earlier. While the TTD has restricted the movement of trekkers during nights, the residents of Mangalam too have been asked to stay indoors during nights.
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Female Panther Foot Prints found. August 13, 2010 11:45
Fresh foot prints of a fmale panther noticed along the Tirumala footpath on Wednesday night, the Tirupati wildlife division authorities stepped up their efforts to trap it. The chief conservator of forests (wildlife), Mr P. Mallikarjuna Rao, said on Thursday that the animal's movements were not noticed during the last five days, but its foot prints appeared afresh on Wednesday night, hinting that it had returned to the zone again after the capture of its male counterpart last week.He appealed to the devotees not to panic. “We were able to trace the leopard which attacked two girls in two separate attacks last fortnight as the male one and this was captured and released into the Velugodu forests.”
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RTC Employees Strike in Puttoor. August 03, 2010 17:06
The RTC staff belonged to Puttoor depot in Chittoor Division boycotted duties, demanding the improvement of bus services in the division.The employees – both drivers and conductors - after staging a dharna in front of Puttoor depot, submitted a memorandum to the regional manager.They told reporters that the bad condition of Volvo buses is forcing commuters to abandon their long journeys through RTC buses. Commuters were also getting into arguments with conductors and drivers over the condition of buses and the lack of quality service, The employees said they are being forced to boycott duties as the Regional Manager was not taking any steps towards improving the condition of the buses."Unless we raise the levels of quality and service in the Volvo buses, the RTC will lose revenue and the commuters would switch over to private services," they said.
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(SFI) took bath in public August 21, 2010 14:59
The boarders of the government-controlled social welfare hostels have resorted to a novel protest at Tirupati on Tuesday to express their disappointment over the appalling conditions prevailing in the hostels despite their repeated agitations.Hostellers who are on a agitation under the banner of the Students Federation of India (SFI) took bath in public at the NTR Circle in Chittoor and regretted that though the SFI conducted a ‘cycle jatha' in the district and submitted a representation to the District Collector about the glaring shortcomings in the welfare hostels, such as lack of adequate toilets, bathrooms, bad upkeep of the rooms and surroundings, no action had been taken.The SFI demonstrators, led by the district president, N. Nageswara Rao, also highlighted the hardship being caused to the boarders in the wake of non-release of scholarships, mess and cosmetic charges among others by the Andhra Pradesh government for the last so many months.
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Vaikuntam to be fully air-conditioned July 26, 2010 15:49
The devotees of Sri Venkateswara Swamy, Lord of the Seven Hills at Tirumala, will now have complete AC comfort in the waiting compartments of the Vaikuntam queue complex as the TTD administration has decided to air-condition the entire queue. The TTD has recently added eight more compartments to the all ready existing 23-compartments of Vaikuntam complex making it a total of 31. Each compartment is equipped to accommodate 750 pilgrims at a single go. Now, the new compartments will also be air-conditioned. TTD Executive Officer I.Y.R. Rao also instructed the officials to extend the ‘access' card system to devotees of all compartments. At present, the facility is available only for devotees of 14 compartments.
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