TIRUPATI: Uravakonda legislator Payyavula Keshav on Wednesday questioned the rationale behind imposing transit restrictions between Tirupati and Tirumala when all kinds of curbs from Jammu to Kanyakumari have been lifted following dip in Covid -19 cases across country.
The TDP leader, who is also the chairman of AP public accounts committee, asked why restrictions are still in place in Tirumala when all other prominent temples have initiated revival measures.
"Devotees are deeply hurt due to the TTD trust board's proposal to hike prices of various arjitha sevas. This is happening because industrialists and the politically elite have been nominated to the trust board, who only care for cost-demand dynamics and not devotion."
"TTD is not a private entity but a spiritual and charitable organization where everything, from darshan to prasadam, must be affordable to the common devotees," Keshav told reporters in Anantapur.
He also targeted the trust board over its decision to shut down all hotels and eateries in Tirumala and serve only annaprasadam to visiting devotees. "When TTD can't ensure uniform darshan and accommodation for all, why is it keen to provide uniform food to all? It's a practically unimplementable decision as food is a matter of personal choice. And the financial implications would be huge," he added, while urging the government to intervene and set things right at the country's richest temple body.
When asked, state endowments minister Vellampalli Srinivas said the trust board has decided to ease Covid restrictions in Tirumala in a phased and cautious manner. "Like every prominent temple in the state, all festivals at TTD temples will be revived soon. The restrictions on pilgrim movement will be lifted at the earliest," he told TOI.
