TIRUMALA: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Board of Trustees met in Tirumala on Friday and decided to perform the annual brahmotsavams of Lord Venkateswara from September 19 to 27 at Tirumala in ‘Ekantham’ without the participation of devotees. TTD chairman YV Subba Reddy said there was no other option due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
“There won’t be any processions in Mada streets. All rituals will be performed in the temple by priests as per tradition. Devotees won’t be allowed,” he added.This year, due to Adhika Masam, brahmotsavams will be performed twice — Salakatla brahmotsavams in September and Navaratri brahmotsavams in October. Pointing this out, the TTD chairman said that if the situation improves, a decision might be taken to let devotees participate in the Navaratri brahmotsavams in October.
TTD to raise funds from devotees to build temples
The Board also discussed ways to improve the temple revenue. “We can’t decrease the expenses as most are related to rituals and festivals like Brahmotsvams. So the focus is on improving revenue resources. That does not mean we will sell assets. We will seek better interest on TTD cash and gold deposits with banks,” Subba Reddy said.He added that due to the Covid-19 crisis, interest rates on deposits have reduced. “They used to give 6-7 per cent interest, but now they give 3.5-4 per cent. We discussed this and asked officials and Board members to explore other options,” the chairman explained.
He said they get low interest on gold deposits (around 2.5 per cent), and Board members with contacts in the RBI and other banks were asked to explore better options. However, the focus is on improving interest rates on cash deposits, Subba Reddy asserted.“We are immediately starting a new system. Instead of going for deposits with a 3-6 month maturity period, we will make deposits to ensure they mature on a monthly basis, so the TTD will have a steady income to meet any exigencies. Deposits of at least `1,000 crore have to mature every month, and the system is being planned keeping this in mind. All Board members have agreed to the proposal,” he said.
The Board also decided to raise funds from devotees to construct temples at different places to propagate Sri Venkateswara Vaibhavam. The TTD will soon organise Venkateswara Kalyanams at those places. As part of this, the TTD has taken up construction of temples in different places from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. A temple at Kanyakumari has been completed and the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the temple in Mumbai has been postponed due to the Covid-19 crisis.
“We are waiting for land allocation by the Uttar Pradesh government for the proposed temple in Varanasi. The Jammu government has already allocated land and I inspected it three days ago. It is satisfactory,” Subba Reddy said, and added that the Venkateswara Swamy temple in Visakhapatnam has been constructed, and Mahakumbabhisehkam will be performed once normalcy is restored.
The Board has also decided to facilitate VIP (protocol) darshan for those who had their Arjita Sevas cancelled.