Tirupati: TTD denies graft in counter maintenance contracts

Tirumala : TTD additional EO AV Dharama Reddy rejected reports on privatisation of counters (for pilgrim services) in Tirumala and Tirupati alleging that the privatisation was only to get commissions (from the contractors).

Speaking to media here on Saturday, Dharma Reddy said the tender process for maintaining the 'counters' was carried out in a most transparent manner and it was awarded to a Bengaluru-based IT firm KVM Info on the basis of lowest rate for maintaining the counters.

He said that as on March 2020, there were altogether 176 counters in Tirumala for issuing laddus, darshan tokens, scanning, etc., and also counters at Alipiri toll gate at Tirupati, down the hills which were reduced later to 162 as per actual requirement, he said affirming that the privatisation was to provide more transparent and efficient services to devotees.

TTD employees, Srivari Sevaks, banks and private firms are maintaining these 162 counters which will be taken over by the IT firm for maintaining the them for pilgrim services, he explained.

"Whenever TTD takes decisions and implements them for the good of pilgrims, a section of media hurls baseless charges to malign the image of TTD," he lamented.