The TTD has resolved to complete the construction of the temple of Lord Venkateswara in Jammu and Kashmir by the end of next year.
A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the board of trustees here on Saturday.
The foundation stone for the temple coming up in a sprawling 62-acre land was laid last week. Addressing the media, TTD chairman Y.V. Subba Reddy said the board was also keen on taking up the construction of temples at Varanasi and Mumbai. It was also firm on completing the construction of 500 temples in SC, ST and fishermen colonies in both the Telugu States in a span of one year with the funds of the SriVani Trust. The board, which also discussed about the establishment of a paediatric facility at BIRRD hospital, decided to invite Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to lay stone for it shortly.
The meeting also gave its nod for taking up the silver plating of the doors of the Lord Varaha Swamy temple, where the gold gilding works of the ‘gopuram’ were under way, and remove all the unauthorised shops atop the town, particularly those existing in the vicinity of the Bedi Anjaneya Swamy temple in one week.
Garuda Varadhi
The board also resolved to take up the extension of Garuda Varadhi from Kapil Theertham to Alipiri with its own funds. It also gave the green signal for the construction of 13 kalyanamandapams in various parts of the State.
The services of all the eligible contract and outsourced employees working in the TTD would soon be regularised, Mr. Subba Reddy said.
Efforts were also on for commissioning SV Bhakti Channel in Kannada and Hindi in a span of three months, he added.
CM thanked
Mr. Subba Reddy, who expressed satisfaction over his two-year stint, listed several pilgrim-friendly initiatives introduced during his tenure such as ‘Gudiko gomatha’, scrapping categorisation in VIP break and, thereby, allocating more darshan hours to the ordinary pilgrims, ban on usage of plastic bottles, and decision to operate electric buses, and thanked the Chief Minister, the member trustees, the officials, the employees, and the pilgrims for extending their support in carrying out various developmental activities.
Later, Mr. Subba Reddy offered prayers at the Anjaneya temple at Akasa Ganga along with Executive Officer K.S. Jawahar Reddy, Additional EO A.V. Dharma Reddy and other officials, and said that the TTD would explore all possibilities in developing the sacred place believed to be the original birth place of Lord Hanuman.
