Ex-TTD Board Members Violating Tirumala Darshan Rules, Says Bhumana

"Former board members should follow the guidelines strictly. They will not be allowed to have the darshan of the Lord if they bring in others apart from their immediate family members," the chairman warned.

At the board meeting chaired by Bhumana in Tirumala, several key decisions were taken including the suspension of VIP break darshan on recommendation letters from March 15, in view of the model code of conduct being implemented across the country ahead of the general elections. The board further decided to create 479 new nurses posts at Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS) in Tirupati.

Addressing the recruitments issue, Bhumana stated that TTD will request the state government to relax certain rules while regularizing the services of existing contract/outsourced employees as mandated by G.O. No.114. The regularization will be done as per the reservation norms after reviewing the recruitments in the last few years.

Other key decisions included constructing of hostels for female students at TTD colleges, installing 10 new lifts at Pilgrims Amenities Complex-1 in Tirumala at a cost of Rs 1.88 crore, allotment of Rs 1.5 crore for setting up security fencing in outer cordon area of Sri Padmavati Rest House and Balaji Nagar East side areas, approving of Rs 14 crore for developing 184 staff quarters. The board has sanctioned funds for gold plating of Thoranam in front of Bhashyakarla at Govindaraja Swamy temple in Tirupati, Thiruvabharana of Parthasarathi Swamy and Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy temples.

It also cleared over Rs 12 crore to upgrade technology at TTD's tier-III data centres for the next five years. Funds were approved for renovation works at 50 temples under TTD's aegis through the SRIVANI Trust. Ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh was announced for the family of a deceased Srivari Temple staff member, Yathirajan Narasimhan.