The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which has been facing criticism for turning Tirumala into a concrete jungle, has to take cue from the Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the Sabarimala temple.
Tirumala is not only part of the Seshachalam wildlife sanctuary but lies alongside the core area, declared the ‘Sri Venkateswara National Park,' where any kind of human activity is banned.
The TTD was allotted 2,700 hectares of forestland for maintenance by the British regime. It built cottages and guesthouses in the past decade, pushing further the self-imposed limit on construction on the hills.
The creation of amenities for pilgrims has pushed ecological conservation to the backseat. During the Congress regime of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, a senior official had proposed to get concrete roads laid all over Tirumala. But the plan was turned down. Similarly, a senior politician from the district is getting a ‘kalyana mandapam' built atop the hills, ignoring ecological concerns.
In fact, the proposal to set up ‘Tirupati Visitors Zone' at Alipiri has remained a non-starter for a decade. The silver-lining is the construction of the ‘Srinivasam' and ‘Hari Nivasam' complexes downhill to ease the pressure on the ecologically sensitive hills.
In contrast, the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district, situated at the heart of the Periyar Tiger Reserve, appears pristine with a luscious green cover. To safeguard the biodiversity at Sabarimala and Pampa downhill, the Travancore Devaswom Board has devised a master plan for the next 50 years. A base camp is being developed on 300 acres at Nilackal, 18 km from the temple. “Any more construction at Sabarimala will damage the biodiversity, hence we will not resort to it,” V.S. Jayakumar, Executive Officer (Sabarimala), Travancore Devaswom Board, told The Hindu .
Wildlife enthusiasts suggest that a similar base camp be set up in Tirupati sooner than later. “Pilgrims will have to be retained downhill for the night and sent to Tirumala only during their allotted darshan time,” says N.V. Nanda Kumar, a member of the Andhra Pradesh Wildlife Board.
While lauding the TTD for maintaining sanitation on Tirumala, Professor Kumar feels that it should set up an incineration plant on the hills, instead of burning solid waste in the open.
