Latest news with #TTD
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Time of India
TTD contemplates 'insurance for all devotees' model to ensure safe pilgrimage for all pilgrims visiting Tirumala
TIRUPATI: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams , which administers the affairs of the world's richest Hindu temple at Tirumala, is contemplating launching a comprehensive insurance cover free of cost for every single devotee coming on a pilgrimage to the sacred abode of Lord Venkateswara from across the globe. This initiative, touted as the first of its kind by any Hindu temple trust in the country, is intended to cover all forms of risks associated with a pilgrimage to Tirumala and make the visiting devotees feel completely safe and secure during their visit to the hill town. TTD Additional EO Ch Venkaiah Choudary is holding a series of consultations with leading insurance companies in the country to turn the proposals into a reality soon. The sacred abode of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala, considered the Bhuloka Vaikuntam (Heavenly abode on earth), is visited by approximately 2.5 crore devotees from across the globe annually. Being one of the busiest Hindu pilgrimage shrines in the world, Tirumala attracts an average pilgrim footfall of approximately 70,000 devotees on weekdays and a little over 90,000 devotees during weekends and festive occasions. The pilgrim influx further swells up to 2 lakh and above during important festive occasions such as the Garuda Seva during the Srivari annual Brahmotsavams, Vaikunta Ekadasi, and the Radhasapthami festivals. Despite some of the best crowd management practices put in place by the Tirupati trust to handle heavy pilgrim congregations, numerous instances of stampedes and stampede-like situations have often led to loss of lives in the past. The January 8 stampede this year, in the run-up to the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival, in which six devotees lost their lives and more than 50 pilgrims were injured near one of the Darshan ticket issuance counters in the temple city, was one of the worst ever stampedes reported in the history of the Tirupati trust. Apart from this, there have been occasional instances of visiting devotees succumbing to fatal road mishaps, natural calamities, cardiac arrests, etc., during their sacred pilgrimage to Tirumala in the past. To cite a few such instances, in the last week of January this year, a 3-year-old boy identified as Sathvik, from Chinna Chowk locality in Kadapa, who came to Tirumala with his parents, accidentally fell from a staircase at a pilgrim amenities complex on the hill town and succumbed to injuries. In February this year, a 16-year-old boy identified as Manjunatha from Madikere in Karnataka, who had chronic heart ailments, died due to cardiac arrest near Matrusri Tarigonda Vengamamba Annaprasadam complex at Tirumala. In November 2022, a 58-year-old devotee identified as K Gopal from Tirumalagiri in Salem of Tamil Nadu, died at the TTD laddu counters at Tirumala after he suffered a major cardiac arrest. There have also been other instances of pilgrims dying in incidents involving tree crashes at Tirumala in the past. In July 2014, a 50-year-old devotee from Chennai, M Saroja, and a 35-year-old local cab driver, K Madhu, died on the spot after an eucalyptus tree got uprooted due to inclement weather and crashed on the devotees near the water works circle at Tirumala. Apart from these instances, a spike in leopard attacks on trekking devotees has also emerged as a cause of major concern in recent times, particularly after a six-year-old girl, Lakshitha, who was trekking along with her parents along the Alipiri pedestrian route to Tirumala, was snatched away and mauled to death by a leopard in August 2023. Taking all forms of security concerns of the visiting devotees into account, the Tirupati trust has now gone into a risk assessment mode, and Additional EO Ch Venkaiah Choudary has been holding consultations with leading insurers in the country to design and implement a comprehensive insurance plan for every single devotee coming on a pilgrimage to Tirumala in case they get involved in an unforeseen tragic incident, resulting in loss of lives or injuries. At present, TTD extends support and insurance coverage for the visiting pilgrims only for accidents, and the area under cover is between Alipiri-Tirumala-Alipiri. The Tirupati trust has been extending a sum of Rs.3 lakh to the kin of pilgrims involved in accidental deaths during their visit to Tirumala. Cases of natural deaths and suicides will not be covered. While the travel and tourism corporations and aggregators across the country have been bundling insurance coverage plans along with the ticket charges and collecting the same from the travellers and the public, in TTD's case, the temple trust plans to extend free insurance coverage for all pilgrims during their pilgrimage to Tirumala irrespective of the Darshan format they choose. Pilgrims availing free Darshan under the three different formats, including the Slotted Sarvadarshan, Divya Darshan (trekking devotees), and Sarvadarshan without tokens, constitute 60-70% of the overall pilgrim footfall to Tirumala every day, and the Tirupati trust is in the process of arriving at a tailor-made insurance plan for all categories of devotees visiting the hill town.
Hans India
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Hans India
Cultural event at Tirumala sparks uproar over alleged fraud
Tirupati: A cultural programme scheduled at Tirumala's Asthana Mandapam on Friday descended into confusion and protest, as more than 2,000 artistes, many of whom had paid to participate, arrived expecting to perform, only to find entry restricted to a fraction of them. The programme, titled Sri Srinivasa Kalaarchana, was initially cleared by the Hindu Dharma Prachara Parishad (HDPP), with approval for performances on June 21. However, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) later revoked the permission after receiving complaints that the organiser had collected money from the performers in exchange for slots. The organiser, Abhishek from Khajipet in Telangana, is said to be running two cultural organisations - Annamacharya Arts Academy and Annamayya Sahithi Kala Vikasa Parishad. Victims allege that he collected amounts between Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000 from participants under the pretext of securing legitimate performance opportunities in Tirumala. Following the cancellation of the original event, Abhishek approached the High Court. The court, while taking note of the irregularities, directed the TTD to allow performances by 1,200 artistes, 600 each on June 27 and 28, and ordered a vigilance inquiry to be completed within four weeks. Despite the clear order, the turnout on Friday far exceeded expectations. With only 600 artistes permitted for the day, hundreds of artistes were left outside the venue, sparking protests and allegations of mismanagement and betrayal. Protesters demanded that all artistes who had paid be allowed to perform as promised. TTD vigilance and local police rushed to manage the situation and held discussions with the agitating crowd. Following instructions from senior officials, the remaining artistes were eventually allowed to perform, temporarily easing the tensions. The organiser's manager has since been taken into custody for questioning, and TTD vigilance officials have initiated a formal investigation into the incident, based on complaints lodged by affected artistes.
Time of India
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
AP high court grants interim protection to Jagan, others in culpable homicide case
Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh high court on Friday granted interim protection to former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and others, directing the police not to take coercive steps, including arrest, in relation to the case registered over the death of one Ch Singaiah. The court also asked the advocate general to explain how can the passengers in a vehicle be held responsible for an untoward incident that resulted in the death of a person. Guntur police registered a case against Jagan, his PA K Naheswara Reddy, former ministers Vidadala Rajini and Perni Venkatramaiah, and former TTD chairman Y V Subba Reddy, charging them with culpable homicide not amounting to murder under section 105 of BNS, after videos surfaced suggesting Singaiah was mowed down by the vehicle in which they were travelling. Jagan and others moved the high court seeking to quash the case registered against them. Arguing on behalf of the petitioners, senior counsels Ponnavolu Sudhakar Reddy and S Sriram submitted that the police initially declared that another vehicle was responsible for the incident in question and registered a case under section 106 of BNS for rash and negligent driving. However, the case was later altered to section 105, and the former chief minister and others, who were passengers in the vehicle, were included as accused. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like This 2025 RAV4 Might Be Toyota's Best Yet TheFactualist Undo They submitted that the case is politically motivated, and the sections included in the FIR against the petitioners do not stand judicial scrutiny. Considering the submissions of the petitioners, Justice K Srinivas Reddy asked advocate general Dammalapati Srinivas to explain how can the passengers in a vehicle involved in an accident could be made accused. Responding to the query, Srinivas said the incident in question cannot be seen as any other incident of rash and negligent driving. The advocate general said there was sufficient material to suggest that the petitioners, despite having knowledge of the incident, did not inform the police or take remedial measures to rescue the victim. Instead, they tried to cover up by giving the impression that some other vehicle was involved in the incident. He further stated that the authorities had given limited permission for three vehicles and 100 persons to visit Rentapalla, but hundreds of vehicles and thousands of people gathered and conducted a rally in utter disregard of the law enforcement agencies. Even after the incident took place, the petitioners did not bother to call for an ambulance or inform the police but continued with the rally, he said. Srinivas said all these things are to be seen together, not in isolation. If it had been a politically motivated case, as alleged by the petitioners, the police would have registered cases into three other deaths that occurred on the same day due to the rally. The reason for the registration of the case in question was based on available material, he said, adding that the investigation is still at a nascent stage and sought time till Tuesday so that he can submit all details pertaining to the case. Considering the submissions on both sides, Justice Reddy posted the matter for further hearing to July 1 and directed the police not to take coercive steps till then.
Time of India
15 hours ago
- Time of India
In a first, TTD plans insurance cover for all devotees visiting Tirumala
Tirupati: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which administers the world's richest Hindu temple, has proposed to launch a comprehensive insurance cover free of cost for all devotees visiting Tirumala. The initiative, perhaps the first of its kind by any temple trust in the country, is intended to cover all forms of risks associated with the pilgrimage to Tirumala. About 2.5 crore devotees from across the globe visit the temple annually, with approximately 70,000 people visiting Tirumala daily for darshan of Lord Venkateswara. On weekends and festivals, the pilgrim rush swells beyond one lakh. Presently, devotees visiting Tirumala are covered under an accident insurance, under which TTD provides financial assistance to the kin of devotees involved in fatal road mishaps under two circumstances — Rs 3 lakh to an individual in case of accidental death under a special contingency case, while the second involves a group accident cover policy under which each individual involved in the accident will be extended a sum of Rs 3 lakh. Also, the amount would be paid only if the accident occurs between Alipiri and Tirumala. TTD is now working on the modalities for the proposed insurance policy that will cover all forms of risks, including death by natural causes. While TTD will bear the premium cost, other factors like compensation amount and eligibility criteria are being worked out. Officials said the proposal is at a preliminary stage and once the policy is finalised, all devotees visiting Tirumala will be covered under the new insurance scheme. Pilgrims availing of free darshan under three different formats, including the slotted sarvadarshan, divya darshan (trekking devotees), and sarvadarshan without tokens constitute between 60 and 70% of the overall pilgrim footfall to Tirumala everyday. The trust is in the process of arriving at a tailormade insurance plan for all these categories of devotees too. The proposal gains significance as there have been many instances of visiting devotees succumbing to fatal road mishaps, natural calamities, cardiac arrests, etc. In Jan, a three-year-old boy, identified as Sathvik from Chinna Chowk locality in Kadapa, slipped and fell from a staircase at a pilgrim amenities complex in Tirumala and succumbed to his injuries. In Feb, a 16-year-old boy identified as Manjunatha from Madikere in Karnataka died of cardiac arrest in Tirumala. There have also been other instances of pilgrims dying in other incidents in Tirumala in the past. In July 2014, M Saroja, a 50-year-old devotee from Chennai, and K Madhu, a 35-year-old local cab driver, died on the spot after an eucalyptus tree got uprooted due to inclement weather and crashed on the devotees. There has also been a spike in leopard attacks on trekking devotees. TTD additional executive officer Ch Venkaiah Choudary has been holding consultations with leading insurance companies in the country to design and implement a comprehensive plan for every single devotee visiting Tirumala. The modalities are expected to be finalised soon.
Time of India
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Telangana man booked for duping artists at Tirumala
Tirupati: A cultural programme scheduled at Tirumala's Asthana mandapam on Friday descended into confusion and protests, as over 2,000 artists — many of whom had paid to participate — arrived expecting to perform, only to find entry restricted to just a few of them. The programme, titled Sri Srinivasa Kalaarchana, was initially cleared by the Hindu Dharma Prachara Parishad (HDPP), with approval for performances on June 21. However, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) later revoked the permission after receiving complaints that the organiser had collected money from performers in exchange for slots. The organiser, Abhishek from Kajipet in Telangana, reportedly runs two cultural organisations — Annamacharya Arts Academy and Annamayya Sahithi Kala Vikasa Parishad. He is alleged to gave collected amounts between ₹2,000 and ₹5,000 from the participants under the pretext of securing legitimate performance opportunities in Tirumala. Following the cancellation of the original event, Abhishek approached the high court. The court, while taking note of the irregularities, directed TTD to allow performances by 1,200 artists, 600 each on June 27 and 28, and ordered a vigilance inquiry to be completed within four weeks. Despite the clear order, the turnout on Friday far exceeded expectations. With only 600 artists permitted for the day, hundreds of artists were left outside the venue, sparking protests and allegations of mismanagement and betrayal. Protesters demanded that all artists who had paid be allowed to perform as promised. TTD vigilance and local police rushed to manage the situation and held discussions with the agitating crowd. Following instructions from senior officials, the remaining artists were eventually allowed to perform, temporarily easing the tensions. The organiser's manager has since been taken into custody for questioning, and TTD vigilance officials have initiated a formal investigation into the incident, based on complaints lodged by the affected artists.
