TTD plans to restrict pilgrims to 50,000 daily

TIRUMALA: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams can provide hassle-free and satisfactory darshan to pilgrims if their number is restricted to 50,000 on any given day as at Vaishno Devi temple in Jammu and Kashmir, TTD executive officer LV Subrahmanyam has said. Participating in the `Dial Your EO’ programme organised on every first Friday of a month, he told the callers that whether people would accept the restriction here was a million-dollar question. ‘‘I appeal to people to write letters to the EO, TTD, Tirupati giving their opinions on the idea,’’ he said.The executive officer said the TTD would organise Srinivasa Kalyanam abroad also. It would send a team of officers shortly to the United States of America for identifying the venues to conduct Srinivasa Kalyanam in that country.“Over two lakh people witnessed Srinivasa Kalyanam held in Kathmandu in Nepal on February 25.The head of that country was very much impressed and asked us to perform it every year. They said they were adopting TTD’s darshan and queue  systems at the famous Pasupatinath temple there. They have requested us to give suggestions on setting up a Kalyanamandapam and Veda Pathashala in Nepal.“In the recent times several foreigners have visited Tirumala and prayed at the temple. Very recently we have had devotees from Japan, Italy and Russia who also requested us to conduct Srinivasa Kalyanam in their respective countries.‘‘The TTD decided to renovate the two museums at Tirupati and Tirumala and invited suggestions from experts. We have sought permission of the Archaeological Survey of India to take up developmental works at the Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy temple at Srinivasa Mangapuram near Tirupati. Scores of devotees participated in the recent annual Brahmotsavams there and keeping that and the increasing pilgrim influx year by year in view, we are thinking of making some improvements and approached the ASI in that direction. ‘The TTD is developing Dhyana Mandirs at the Paruveta Mandapam and the Tarigonda Vengamamba Samadhi. It will consider the suggestions for providing lifts and western toilets in Varahaswamy and other guest houses for the convenience of aged pilgrims,’’ he said.Joint executive officer KS Srinivasa Raju, chief vigilance and security officer MK Singh and other officials were also present.