Several Reforms in Tirumala: TTD EO

Anantapur: Affirming that upholding the serenity and sanctity of Tirumala was his topmost priority, TTD executive officer J. Shyamala Rao said the temple board has ushered in several changes to various mechanisms of the temple in the last month for the benefit of lakhs of devotees visiting the most important Hindu pilgrimage site in the world.

Speaking to the media here on Saturday in Tirumala, the EO said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had directed him to completely reform the existing mechanism in terms of Darshan, Annaprasadam, Laddus, IT infrastructure and other core areas in the larger interests of the pilgrims coming from across the globe. “After holding detailed departmental review meetings last month, several changes have been introduced. We have streamlined the outside queue line system, enhanced the taste and quality of annaprasadams and laddus, brought in several IT reforms in Darshan and accommodation bookings and improved the sanitation,” he explained.

"To ensure the safety and security of the tens of thousands of pilgrims, we have initiated steps against restaurants and hotels that are not maintaining the quality with the help of food safety authorities. We closed down a big canteen a few days ago for failing to observe the norms of the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The canteen was offering low-quality, unhygienic food, maintaining poor sanitation, charging huge prices and was also not paying the licence fees despite several notices. We have also launched a mobile lab which tests about 80 food ingredients," Shyamala Rao said. The EO further instructed the hoteliers in Tirumala to follow quality standards and rates as per TTD guidelines and not sub-lease to others.

“For the convenience of the devotees, a new shed that can house six thousand people has been built at the Narayangiri queues. To avoid serpentine lines and long waiting hours, we have increased the existing quota of 1.05 lakh SSD tokens to 1.47 lakh per week. Three AEOs are assigned to exclusively supervise the supply of safe drinking water, milk, annaprasadams and improved sanitation measures in queues. TTD will further strengthen the IT system and correct errors in the booking of Arjita Sevas, darshan, accommodation and other services,” he elaborated.