The main venue of the three-day World Telugu Conference (WTC) from December 27 has finally been shifted to the Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR) Stadium in Tirupati from Avilala Grounds, a 90-acre site a little away from the city, which was heavily flooded following the recent torrential rains in the area.
The sprawling stadium’s ground will be merged with the vacant land of Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University (SVVU) which is available alongside, for holding the inaugural function in which President Pranab Mukherjee will participate in addition to the other main conferences of the event.
Besides, the Mahati Auditorium in the city has been chosen for holding various literary meetings of poets, etc.
The NTR Stadium can accommodate at least 20,000 people at a time, while the veterinary university campus will be used for overflow and extra influx. The Mahati Auditorium, at maximum capacity, can simultaneously facilitate over 15,000 people to view a programme, an official said
Tirupati is vulnerable to more heavy rains as it lies in Rayalaseema where the North-East monsoon will be active for another month. The monsoon threat is one of the reasons for the shifting of the venue from Avilala Grounds which got flooded.
As Tirupati area is receiving intermittent rains these days, the possibility of the ground drying up is ruled out.
Culture Director R. V. Prasada Raju, Endowments Commissioner G. Balaramaiah and Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanams Executive Officer L. V. Subrahmanyam visited the new places selected and issued instructions to the officials concerned on the steps to be taken to prepare them for the event.
They will submit a report to the Government on Monday for approval.
Meanwhile, as the deadline for registrations came to a close on Friday, the number of those who enrolled themselves as delegates online or through other means, crossed the 5,000 mark.
Sixty per cent of them are from within the State, 20 per cent from other States in the country and the remaining from abroad, representing the US, the UK, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius, Germany, Canada, etc.
