VIJAYAWADA: In a major relief to devotees visiting Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam (SDMSD) atop Indrakeeladri from across Andhra and other States, the temple authorities reportedly took the decision to offer a free ride to the temple from bus stand as well as railway station in the city.
The decision was taken after several devotees requested the authorities to waive off the bus ticket prices like the authorities of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), where they are offering free ride to the hill. Currently, the Durga temple authorities are charging Rs 10 per head from Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) and railway station to Durga temple.
Following the requests, Durga temple executive officer (EO) Darbamulla Bramarambha proposed the same with Endowments minister Kottu Satyanarayana. He wrote a letter to Endowments commissioner M Hari Jawaharlal and awaited confirmation from the higher officials.
According to temple officials, as many as nine special buses under the name ‘Divyaradham’ have been operating for temple operations by ferrying devotees from PNBS, railway station and Durga ghat on shift basis from 5.00 am to 9.00 pm.
“Each bus will make 16 rounds per day on normal days and 20 rounds per day on festive days, ferrying 4,000 to 10,000 devotees on average. Charging `10 per head will fetch a revenue of around Rs 4 crore per year, out of which approximately Rs 3 crore will be spent on maintenance of buses such as fuel expenses, repairs and salaries to the bus staff,” the Deputy Chief Minister and Endowments minister Kottu Satyanarayana told TNIE.
The minister further said that communication was made to endowments commissioner Hari Jawaharlal to prepare a report on expenditure after waiving off the ticket price for devotees.
“The process is underway and will come into force in a couple of weeks,” he added. He further said that Durga temple would be transformed into a new shape, according to the new master plan on the lines of Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam.