TIRUMALA: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Trust Board has resolved to request the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Centre to rename the Tirupati International Airport (Renigunta) as Sri Venkateswara International Airport.
The announcement was made by TTD Chairman BR Naidu following an emergency board meeting held at Annamayya Bhavan on Tuesday.
Briefing the media, Naidu said public facilities across the country are often named after prominent local landmarks or deities. “In line with that tradition, we are requesting the Centre to name Tirupati airport after Sri Venkateswara,” he stated.
The Trust also urged the ministry to incorporate architectural elements and depictions of the temple’s ambience at the airport, including entrances. TTD will bear the cost of this transformation, including construction, maintenance, and upkeep.
In another announcement, the Chairman said the TTD will soon construct a large temple in Bengaluru. This development follows a renewed assurance by Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, who promised to clear the pending file related to the allotment of 47 acres of land for the temple.
TTD is allocating land for a laboratory being set up by CSIR-Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute in Tirupati, Amaravati, and Visakhapatnam. The lab will help test the quality of ingredients like rice, ghee, and dry fruits used in preparing prasadam.
Addressing long-standing employment issues, Naidu said the TTD Board has decided to temporarily stall the recruitment process being handled by Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) and instead regularise the services of contract workers who have served for over two decades in TTD institutions such as SVIMS, BIRRD, educational institutions, and transport departments.
A letter will be sent to APPSC in this regard. Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has appointed a three-member committee — comprising the Endowments Minister, TTD Chairman, and Executive Officer J Shyamala Rao — to study the matter and submit a report by the first week of July.