The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), which manages the Lord Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh, plans to set up four replicas of the temple across the country.
One replica is proposed at Kurukshetra in Haryana. “The new temple would be spread over six acres of land,” I Y R Krishna Rao, TTD’s executive officer told Business Standard.
The executive officer is the chief executive of TTD, one of the richest temple trusts in the country. The Devesthanam clocked an income of Rs 1,100 crore from the Tirumala temple through offerings (Rs 300 crore), selling of hair (Rs 100 crore), interest on deposits and other sources.
One more replica temple is planned for Guwahati in Assam. “We have also written to other state governments, including Tamil Nadu, to allocate land to set up similar temples across the country, which would not only reduce the crowd at Tirumala, but will also help devotees who are not able to travel to Tirumala,” he said.
The TTD is committed to serving pilgrims who visit Tirumala and Tirupati.
The Devasthanam also plans to launch a mobile temple to reach out to devotees in rural and tribal areas, and even to prisons across the country.
“As part of Lok Kalyanam, TTD will take Lord Venkateswara deity in a specialised mobile temple to tribal and rural villages across the country. The vehicle will be stationed for a week in each location where the poojas performed at Tirumala will be conducted,” he added.