TIRUPATI: “Effective temple management and hassle-free darshan and basic facilities for the pilgrims visiting the temple are my primary concern and I have to work hard to achieve that,’’ Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Executive Officer IYR Krishna Rao said.
Rao, who had made a favorable impression on the general public, within a few days of taking over the reins of TTD, custodian of world famous Temple of Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala, told Express that, there is a need to bring in some changes and set himself a timeline of two-three months.
Rao, who during his 12 hour wait in the general queue for a darshan of Lord Venkateswara couple of days ago interacted with a cross-section of pilgrims, felt that Mahalagu Darshan during rush hours was inevitable under the given circumstance.
“I think we need to seriously study the different rituals of the temple and see if there is any possibility of any changes being made in the timings of sevas and other rituals, ’ ’ he opined.
He said that every compartment in the Vaikuntam Queue Complex will have a electronic display board, informing of the position of the running line and likely time of darshan for the devotees in that compartment.
The Executive Officer instructed the Engineering Department to change the old taps, pipes and toilets in the VQC to maintain cleanliness and hygiene.
He asked them to take up maintainance on a regular basis. He also directed the officials to deploy an officer of DyEO rank at the entrance of paid Sudharshan token (Rs 50 ticket) queue line on a permanent basis.
Rao, who noticed the difficulties being faced by the parents with infants in the queue lines, felt the need for change in the situation and issued directions for Mahadhawara Darshan for both parents of the infants, which earlier was only limited to the mother of the infant and most parents of toddlers preferred to go through the rush and have their darshan together.
He also instructed the officials to supply tea and coffee twice a day to the waiting pilgrims in queue complex apart from free milk for aged and children.