N. Kanniah, general secretary of the Southern Railway Mazdoor Union (SRMU), who has been nominated Trustee of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Board of Trustees, has promised to press the case for improved facilities for the lakhs of pilgrims visiting the hill-shrine in Andhra Pradesh.
Addressing a press conference, Mr. Kanniah said he would work for the immediate implementation of pilgrim-friendly measures such as distribution of refreshments for devotees at the foothills as well as during the climb.
He said he will ensure that long-term plans, including shelters and chaultries were in place within a year.
The SRMU leader, who was nominated a trustee of the famed temple by the Andhra Pradesh Governor, will hold office for a period of two years as a representative of the States of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
He has previously served as vice president of the development committee in the TTD Board in 2004.
Among the measures he plans to propose at an upcoming meeting of the TTD Board in the first week of September are to provide facilities for direct darshan to devotees with children aged up to two years by extending the existing provision for the special ‘Subatham entrance’ for pilgrims with babies aged up to one year.
Pointing out that pilgrims from many States converged at Tirupati —an estimated 80,000 pilgrims visit the hill-shrine every day with the daily arrivals crossing a lakh during weekends —the newly appointed trustee suggested construction of chaultries every 20-30 km distance to offer relief to those undertaking the pilgrimage on foot from places such as Chennai.
Free cottages
Mr. Kanniah has mooted the construction of about 10,000 free cottages to accommodate pilgrims.
One of his priorities is to improve the quality of prasadam such as ‘pongal’ and ‘puliyodarai’.
According to him, awareness would be created on existing provisions such as the one that exempted those above 65 years of age and physically challenged persons from standing in queue if they make an application to the Administrative Officer.
He also proposes electric-powered vehicles for differently-abled persons at the site.
