TIRUPATI,March27,2012: At Tirumala, all pilgrims are equal in the eyes of the Lord. But VIPs are always more equal in the eyes of the management of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD). On March 18, restless devotees inside the Vaikuntam queue complex began shouting slogans. The reason: AP governor ESL Narasimhan was in the presence of the Lord at the time and ordinary mortals were forced to wait. Narasimhan has visited the temple six times (January 8, 29, February 5, 6 and March 18 and 19) in the last two-and-a-half months. Every time he is at the temple, it's an agonizing wait for the pilgrims.
Though a maximum of 1,200 are supposed to be allowed in for 'VIP break' darshan (twice daily, in the morning and evening), their number goes up to 3,000-4,000 a day and the common pilgrim lines are stopped for 3-4 hours. But who is a VIP devotee? As per the norms of the TTD, these comprise a huge list which include MPs/MLAs/ ministers/chief ministers/governors/ judges of AP high court / district judges and IAS officers of the AP cadre. Those who donate more than Rs 1 crore, film personalities, industrialists, corporate honchos and sportspersons are also treated as VIPs. Since all these VIPs do not descend on the same day, the mere presence of VIPs is not a problem. "They come with a huge entourage and stick around for long putting common pilgrims to hardships. This is the problem" says a temple official. Former TTD chairman Adikeshavulu Naidu used to chaperone liquor baron Vijay Mallya stalling darshans for common pilgrims for two hours," recollects former DG of police T Suryanarayana Rao. Adding to the trouble are recommendation letters issued by VIPs. A pilgrim carrying a VIP letter is also treated as a VIP with no proper scrutiny. "Present chairman Kanumuri Bapiraju revels in prostrating before VIPs. He issues VIP passes randomly often on the basis of a VIP letter," charges Kamalananda Bharati Swamy of Hindu Devalaya Parirakshana Samithi. There are also allegations that some of these VIP passes are blackmarketed.A separate cell has been set up to peruse recommendation letters of board members for darshans/Arjitha sevas/accommodations provided under the discretionary quota. "This is subject to the availability of rooms and influx of pilgrims. But this rule is always flouted to pander to VIPs," a temple official says. As if this wasn't enough, Bapiraju has now proposed an exclusive counter to facilitate VIP break darshan for all the public representatives and their families and friends.Demands to prune the entire VIP list to 1,500 and do away with the discretionary VIP quota have become strident of late. "Why cannot TTD issue a daily statement on how many VIP passes have been issued by its officials," Samanchi Srinivas, BJP leader, asks. Though TTD argues that several development works taken up at the temple are directly or indirectly linked to the largesse of these big shots, an IAS officer who was executive officer of TTD says this problem can be overcome only when the VIP list is revised. TTD chairman Bapiraju was not available for his comments.(This is the second in a series of reports on the affairs of Lord Balaji's temple in Tirumala)
TTD Board bends backwards for MLAs
Unfazed by widespread criticism over special darshan for VIPs at the expense of common pilgrims, the TTD, kowtowing to netas wishes, is all set to set up a special cell in the assembly for MLAs and MLCs to issue special passes. Speaker Nadendla Manohar held a meeting with TTD executive officer L V Subramanyam and endowments minister C Ramchadraiah in Hyderabad on Monday and asked them to set up a special TTD cell. Irked by the inconvenience caused by the rush of VIPs on Vaikunta Ekadasi on January 5, over a dozen legislators lodged complaints with the speaker and the council chairman about what they called "mismanagement" of the situation by TTD. Following this, TTD decided to set up a separate cell.
Though a maximum of 1,200 are supposed to be allowed in for 'VIP break' darshan (twice daily, in the morning and evening), their number goes up to 3,000-4,000 a day and the common pilgrim lines are stopped for 3-4 hours. But who is a VIP devotee? As per the norms of the TTD, these comprise a huge list which include MPs/MLAs/ ministers/chief ministers/governors/ judges of AP high court / district judges and IAS officers of the AP cadre. Those who donate more than Rs 1 crore, film personalities, industrialists, corporate honchos and sportspersons are also treated as VIPs. Since all these VIPs do not descend on the same day, the mere presence of VIPs is not a problem. "They come with a huge entourage and stick around for long putting common pilgrims to hardships. This is the problem" says a temple official. Former TTD chairman Adikeshavulu Naidu used to chaperone liquor baron Vijay Mallya stalling darshans for common pilgrims for two hours," recollects former DG of police T Suryanarayana Rao. Adding to the trouble are recommendation letters issued by VIPs. A pilgrim carrying a VIP letter is also treated as a VIP with no proper scrutiny. "Present chairman Kanumuri Bapiraju revels in prostrating before VIPs. He issues VIP passes randomly often on the basis of a VIP letter," charges Kamalananda Bharati Swamy of Hindu Devalaya Parirakshana Samithi. There are also allegations that some of these VIP passes are blackmarketed.A separate cell has been set up to peruse recommendation letters of board members for darshans/Arjitha sevas/accommodations provided under the discretionary quota. "This is subject to the availability of rooms and influx of pilgrims. But this rule is always flouted to pander to VIPs," a temple official says. As if this wasn't enough, Bapiraju has now proposed an exclusive counter to facilitate VIP break darshan for all the public representatives and their families and friends.Demands to prune the entire VIP list to 1,500 and do away with the discretionary VIP quota have become strident of late. "Why cannot TTD issue a daily statement on how many VIP passes have been issued by its officials," Samanchi Srinivas, BJP leader, asks. Though TTD argues that several development works taken up at the temple are directly or indirectly linked to the largesse of these big shots, an IAS officer who was executive officer of TTD says this problem can be overcome only when the VIP list is revised. TTD chairman Bapiraju was not available for his comments.(This is the second in a series of reports on the affairs of Lord Balaji's temple in Tirumala)
TTD Board bends backwards for MLAs
Unfazed by widespread criticism over special darshan for VIPs at the expense of common pilgrims, the TTD, kowtowing to netas wishes, is all set to set up a special cell in the assembly for MLAs and MLCs to issue special passes. Speaker Nadendla Manohar held a meeting with TTD executive officer L V Subramanyam and endowments minister C Ramchadraiah in Hyderabad on Monday and asked them to set up a special TTD cell. Irked by the inconvenience caused by the rush of VIPs on Vaikunta Ekadasi on January 5, over a dozen legislators lodged complaints with the speaker and the council chairman about what they called "mismanagement" of the situation by TTD. Following this, TTD decided to set up a separate cell.