Boards to be displayed on availability of rooms: EO Jawahar Reddy

Tirumala: During the 'Dial Your TTD EO' programme held here on Friday, a devotee Sunil from Suryapet complained about the allotment of rooms in Padmavathi Rest House Area only to those bringing recommendation letters. Sharing his bitter experience with EO, he said the security at the entrance did not even allow him to go to the Rest House Area reception desk to find out any vacancy of rooms and bluntly told him that only those having recommendation letters will be allowed to go to the reception counter forcing him return.

The devotees also complained that the display board on the availability of the accommodation in the Rest House area was also found not functioning and urged TTD EO to take steps for allotment of rooms even to those without any recommendation letter and see the display board function to help the devotees know the availability of rooms.

He also informed EO that they are able to get only Rs 50 or Rs 100 rooms in the Central Reception Office (CRO) even if they prepared to avail rooms of higher rent and sought TTD to make available rooms of higher tariffs also for the convenience of pilgrims who are ready to pay more for good accommodation.

EO Dr K S Jawahar Reddy said that the issue was already taken up by the temple management and efforts are on to put up display boards at all points where rooms are being allotted on the availability of accommodation to help the pilgrim know the rooms position and added that he will also consider rooms allotment in Padmavati area without recommendation letters, depending on the availability of accommodation in that area. Two women devotees Lakshmi (Hyderabad) and Geetha Kumari (WG) lauded TTD for good darshan on Vaikunta Ekadasi and Dwadasi but complained that they could not get prasadams in Tirumala temple while they saw many employees taking away prasadams in covers. "Despite repeated requests we got no prasadams but only faced the employees discomfiture seeking us to go away,'' they said.

A devotee Mallika from Nellore brought to the notice of EO on the leakage of water from pipelines in Tirumala leading to precious drinking water going waste.

In all 35 calls received in which many devotees pour in appreciation on TTD for ten day Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam facilitating lakhs of pilgrims to have Dwara Darshanam of Lord.