The newly-floated Sri Venkateswara Alaya Nirmana (Srivani) Trust of late is considered an efficient tool in checking religious conversions which is reportedly predominant in the backward regions inhabited by socially backward communities.
The main intention of the trust is to construct the temples of Lord Venkateswara in all the backward regions in the country. The TTD authorities reportedly believe that the trust in all probability will annihilate the evil menace of conversions should one go by the overwhelming response it is receiving from the followers of Lord Venkateswara spread all across the globe.
Though the trust was actually floated on May 25, the response from the devotees gradually picked up after it was linked to the VIP ‘darshan’ on November 4. So far the trust has received about ₹3.21 crore in just 50 days after its linking to the ‘darshan’ of the deity.
There is also a soaring response in the contributions to the trust after it was made available online.
The fact that devotees from United States, Georgia, Dubai, Singapore and other countries have munificently contributed to the trust in it substantiates its growing popularity.
According to the available information, the State tops the list with 33% of the donors followed by Telangana (22%) Tamil Nadu (20%) and 17% from Karnataka.
Any devotee contributing ₹10,000 and in multiples is allowed to avail the VIP tickets on which he can go straight and report at the Vaikuntam complex for ‘darshan’ of the deity.
The TTD, which initially failed to recognise the vast potential the trust has in containing the alleged conversions, soon realised its mistake and spiked the online quota to 500 tickets on normal days.
TTD Additional Executive Officer A.V. Dharma Reddy said as a recognition of the largesse extended by the donors towards the trust the management has exclusively earmarked about 50 suites in the Vakulamata Rest House to accommodate them while at Tirumala.
