Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Pedda Jeeyar, who on Friday night was admitted to Padmavati State COVID hospital at Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS) in Tirupati, returned to his Mutt on Saturday night.
As per the mutt sources, the health condition of the pontiff, who reportedly tested positive for COVID-19, was said to be stable and had been advised to remain in isolation.
The pontiff is on ‘Chaturmasya deeksha’, and this is believed to be one of the reasons behind advising him to remain in isolation.
Earlier, the Jeeyar, who had been reportedly unwell for the past couple of days, developed high temperature while in Tirupati, and on suspicion immediately shifted to the hospital, the sources said.
Meanwhile, TTD Chairman Y.V. Subba Reddy directed the authorities to ensure best medical care available to the seer, and, if warranted, not hesitate to rush him to Apollo hospital in Chennai. He also urged them to ensure that the daily rituals were carried out to the presiding deity inside the temple without any deviance.
On the other hand, State BJP spokesperson and former TTD member trustee G. Bhanuprakash Reddy demanded that the authorities temporarily stop darshan for public and carry out the rituals in private as was done during the lockdown period.
TTD honorary priest A.V. Ramanan Dikshitulu, who had kicked up a controversy with his tweet a couple of days back, reiterated his demand to stop darshan for a few weeks citing 15 of the priests reportedly contracting COVID-19.
It is against this backdrop that Mr. Subba Reddy’s statement that he would review the situation with authorities regarding the continuation of darshan at Tirumala assumed significance.
