The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Trust Board, in its first meeting since its recent reconstitution, introduced a series of significant reforms aimed at enhancing governance and religious alignment. Among them were major decisions, including one that sparked a controversy by deciding to mandate non-Hindu employees to either go in for voluntary retirement or seek transfers to other government departments in Andhra Pradesh.
The board urged the non-Hindu employees to reconsider their roles in the trust maintaining the sanctity of the Tirumala temple. According to reports, this measure is to impact around 300 of the 7,000 permanent employees working under the TTD. Such a development has brought up discussions over religious identity and employee rights.
Darshan Experience Revamp With AI
T o address long-standing issues of extensive waiting times for devotees, the TTD Trust Board plans advanced AI systems. The plan is to bring down the waiting periods for darshan from 30 hours to as low as 2-3 hours. This modernization plan looks at crowd management and is aimed at providing an improved spiritual experience at the Lord Venkateswara shrine .
Monthly Special Darshan For Residents
Recognizing the dedication of local residents, the board decided to issue special darshan for the people of Tirupati on the first Tuesday of every month. This action is expected to strengthen the bond of the temple with the community.
Better Quality For Divine Laddus
The board resolved to improve on the quality of these laddus by using premium-grade ghee, especially concerning recent controversies over the famed Tirupati laddus. Incorporating laddus as an integral part of temple offerings is set to be enhanced to higher standards in order to ensure sanctity and appeal.
Transferring all TTD deposits from private banks to nationalised banks was one of the key decisions the board took for financial safety. It also decided to cancel the lease of the Visakha Sarada Peetham mutt for violating TTD regulations.
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