TIRUPATI: Even as many government institutions are grappling with the currency challenges posed by the demonetisation exercise, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has remained largely insulated from the move.
The smooth transition from cash to a cashless system today is obviously a result of the measures initiated more than a year back, when demonetisation was not even in the air.
The allocation of more Seeghra Darshan (Rs. 300) tickets for online quota last year came under fire, when people wondered how people in the rural and semi-urban areas would access the internet. While retaining the option of allowing across-the-counter booking through its information centres and post offices, the TTD consciously made available more tickets for the net-savvy, which was later hailed as a welcome measure to encourage online booking.
Later, many people comfortably migrated to booking their darshan tickets, accommodation, extra laddus and even made donations through the web.
After the announcement on demonetisation on November 8, the TTD management swiftly arranged 10 PoS machines from its banker to meet the crowd at the counters having pilgrim transactions. “We are trying to technology-enable all the points, where we have transaction interface with the pilgrims,” says TTD Executive Officer D. Sambasiva Rao. So far, nearly 40 counters have been covered with PoS/swiping machines and the number is growing at a rapid pace. Efforts are on to install GPRS-enabled PoS/swiping machines to tackle the problem to a large extent.
Two-machine system
The officials now plan to double the number of machines at any given point of transaction. The initiative is aimed at meeting the burgeoning e-literate crowd and also to avoid technology-related irritants such as failure of a bank’s server. “We will have two machines, one by a scheduled bank and the other likely of a private bank,” as a fall-back arrangement,” adds TTD Financial Advisor and Chief Accounts Officer O. Balaji.
Quite interestingly, the TTD’s information centre in New Delhi is the first office under the temple management to go completely cashless, as all the bookings and over-the-counter purchase of publications are done in the electronic mode. Plans are afoot to simulate the same in the centres located in other cities and towns.
