There was a significant meeting of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Board of Torrustees wherein it has been brought to the notice that there are numerous TTD activities that are prone to improvement so that they are capable of enhancing the experience of devotees as well as the administrative issues that the organization has. With BR Naidu as the Chairperson of the meeting, various key reforms were discussed during the meeting, like the abolition of the Srivani Trust, and the provisions to lessen the congestion in the queues of people waiting to have darshan.
Revised hours for having Darshan for the devotees
Minutes of the board meeting indicate that one of the key proposals that were passed was to alter the time frames that the devotees are required to adhere to in having darshan. This is an unacceptable situation and it is no wonder that on some days the wait time for the devotees even crosses 30 hours. The board has come forth with an interesting technology based plan that will see the wait time for devotees drop from its current figures to just around 2 – 3 hours. The board plans to partner with consultants to develop a rapid queue management system that will guarantee that most devotees and pilgrims will not have to wait long to receive the lord’s blessings.
Dissolution of Srivani Trust
The bankruptcy of Srivani Trust, which has occasions of client satiates and purported mistrust, will be dissolved into senotrusts sub accounts so as to ensure data safety and security. The statute under the trust will move forward, but the freign reporting will be granularly decentralizd to avoid the issues.
Administrative Reforms and Modernization
The board has oriented its decision making towards increasing the administrative productivity by undertaking the following measures:
Revision Of Resolutions Adopted By Past Governing Body: A few resolutions adopted by the past governing body over the last five years were considered and some of the them were annulled.
Quality Enhancement of Prasadam: The enhancement of the quality of the materials used for the Srivari laddus, such as ghee, was agreed upon by the board. This will be under the supervision of a committee of experts.
Modernization of Annadanam Services: The TTD is working together with TVS Motors in a joint project to upgrade the Annaprasadam Complex with a view to its greater capacity and upholding food safety within the next 25 years.
Focus on Environmental and Infrastructure Improvements
The TTD also proposed measures that would help restore the ambience of the temple town:
Garbage Clearance in Tirumala: The board has vowed to cleanse the dump site of Tirumala of all debris within a period of three months.
Renaming Projects: The Srinivasa Sethu flyover will be relabelled as “Garuda Varadhi” so that its original status will be restored.
Religious and Cultural Integrity
In order to safeguard the sanctity of the temple town:
Addressing Religious Propaganda: Workers who are members of other faiths will be made to take early retirement at their option, or will be re-deployed to other government ministries and departments.
Tourism Restrictions: The board intends to eliminate the distribution of darshan tickets issued as part of tourism bundles that have been provided, emphasizing that the goal of Tirumala and its sacred sites is not commercial endeavors, but rather spiritual experiences.
Community-Centric Initiatives
The TTD recognizes the importance of its local devotees and with that in mind intends to restore the practice of allowing Tirupati residents to have darshan on the first Tuesday of the month. This is an approach that was in practice earlier but has been curtailed. Furthermore the board intends to recover 20 acres of land near Alipiri which was earmarked for a tourism project and surrender it back their temple board for temple usage.
Conclusion
These changes are aimed at ensuring that TTD does not compromise its other goals of operational effectiveness and administrative efficiency in Tirumala while improving the services rendered to the devotees. Therefore, incorporating modern practices while also taking a step backward to some previous practices, the board’s focus seems to be preserving the cultural and religious aspect of the temple town.
