Pilgrimsplanning to visit Tirumala during the last week of December should think twice abouttheir visit as the organisers of the World Telugu Conference (WTC) have decidedto reserve all the 4,000 rooms in private hotels and TTD cottages for thedelegates attending the three-day event to be held from December 27,28 and 29.
Theorganising committee is expecting 20,000 delegates for the event, but they haveidentified only 4,000 rooms which includes 2,000 AC and 2,000 non-AC rooms. As theywere finding difficult to provide accommodation to the remaining 15,000,delegates, chief secretary Minnie Mathew has suggested to provide tentedaccommodations to the remaining delegates at the venue at MR Palle village.
Apartfrom these 20,000 delegates, 35,000 floating visitors are also expected toattend the conference who also needs accommodation. But the responsibility ofproviding accommodation to these floating visitors is not with the organisingcommittee. These floating visitors may also find it difficult to get anaccommodation during those days. The TTD has 508 rooms at Vishnu Nivasampilgrim amenities complex, 560 rooms at Srinivasam complex and 164 rooms at Madhavacomplex in Tirupati.
The private hotels in the city have been divided into fourcategories - A, B, C and D based on the facilities available. There are a total4,300 rooms in all these private hotels. According to sources, the organisingcommittee had approached them asking to rent all the rooms available in thehotels to them, but the hotel managements reportedly expressed theirwillingness to provide only 50 per cent of the rooms. But, a final deal betweenthe two parties would be struck only after a few days after the committeearrives at a final figure on the number of delegates coming. The committee isalso contemplating to provide accommodation in TTD kalyanamandapams located inSrikalahasthi and other nearby places in the district, which is yet to be finalised.
However, as of now the organising committee has no plans to accommodate thedelegates in Tirumala cottages. The VIP delegates would be providedaccommodation at various guest houses like Padmavathi, SV guest house and otherplaces. In this backdrop, pilgrims are advised to make prior confirmation aboutthe accommodation during the last week of December. The World Telugu meet is beingheld to promote Telugu language, literature, culture among younger generations.