BTUs 2016 A BIG HIT WITH THE DIVINE BLESSINGS-TTD EO

Tirumala, 11 October 2016: The nine-day mega religious festival of annual srivari brahmotsavams is a huge success registering a record of all sorts in every wing with the divine blessings of Lord Venkateswara said, TTD EO Dr D Sambasiva Rao with excitement.

The TTD administrative chief complimented all the heads of various departments, police, vigilance, employees, srivari sevakulu, Scouts and Guides, SVBC, media and above all the ocean of pilgrim devout who converged to witness the nine-day celestial fete making it a big success.

A thanks giving press conference has been arranged at Annamaiah Bhavan in Tirumala on Tuesday. Addressing the media persons, the EO said, TTD created record in every wing with a incredible increase in pilgrims number in terms of darshan, kalyanakatta tonsures, laddu prasadam distribution,IT, Reception, sale of publications, health, medical, Annaprasadam, hundi collection, distribution etc. “He said nothing is ultimate and we will better our services by next year. I once again thank all for your support and team work”, he reiterated.

Later the Tirumala JEO Sri KS Sreenivasa Raju has given the statistical report(for eight days) about the increased performance of various departments in pilgrim service when compared to last year. He said a record of 6.97lakh pilgrims had darshan which is 34.19% more than that of previous year, Hundi garnered 20.24crores which is also 33.5% more than last year’s, almost 30 lakh laddus were sold as against the previous year number of 22.65lakhs which is also 32.5% more.

The In-charge CVSO of TTD and SP Chittoor Sri G Srinivasulu said for the first time, the Community Police Officers(police sevadal) have been pressed into service besides 2800 TTD vigilance, 3500 police, 1200 scouts and guides, 1300 srivari seva volunteers which has yielded good results.

The cultural programmes by TTD have been planned in a unique manner from routine with a perfect selection process of teams from each and every district, said All Projects Special Officer Sri N Muktheswara Rao.

On the other hand the SVBC has set a new record with 10.84 lakh pilgrims witnessed the brahmotsavam programmes on you tube, said the CEO Sri Narasimha Rao.

HIGHLIGHTS OF SRIVARI SALAKATLA BRAHMOTSAVAMS 2016

TEMPLE

· 6.97 lakh pilgrims had Darshan as against 5.19 lakh pilgrims during previous year with an increase of 34.19%.
· Direct line Darshan, no waiting, and no backlogs carried to next day due to efficient handling of queue lines
· Many devotees had record Darshan in half an hour.
· VIP breaks cancelled and even Protocol Darshan breaks reduced to half an hour
· Laddu sales are up by 2 lakh more every day
· Record 25.30 lakh laddus sold in 8 days of brahmotsavams
· Nearly 7 lakh laddus kept in buffer stock for Brahmotsavams
· Over Three lakh persons including locals participated in the Garuda Seva which commenced at 7.30 PM sharp on 7-10-2016
· Hundi Collection increased to Rs: 20.24 crore as against Rs.15.15crore of previous year with an increase of 33.53%
· Vagapadi garnered Rs. 4.35 crore as against 3.75crores during last year with an increase of 15.95 %
· 29,96 ,736 numbers of small laddus were sold as against 22,65,838 lakhs numbers during last year with an increase of 32.26 %
· Arjitham Collections 5.38 lakhs as against Rs.3.20lakhs during last year with an increase of 68%

RECEPTION WING :: TIRUMALA

· Rent Collections towards accommodation provided to Pilgrims this year Rs.1.64cr this year as against Rs.1.22cr with a hike of 34.08%
· Record 107 % occupancy of accommodation
· During Garuda Seva day 6788 rooms have been allotted.
· Announcements made about free allotment of rooms regularly every day and evening.

KALYANAKATTA COMPLEX :: TIRUMALA

· In a record 3,45,142 devotees offered hair as against 2,38, 826 during last Brahmotsavam registering a hike 42.52%
· Tonsuring is free cost in all Kalyanakattas.
· About 1450 barbers including 277 women barbers utilised in all kalyanakattas
· Snacks and coffee,tea provided to devotees in KalyanaKatta

ANNAPRASADAM DEPARTMENT

· Tiffin served to pilgrims this year is 8.98lakhs as against 4.31lakhs during last with an increased by 108%
· Meals served to pilgrims this year is 15lakhs as against 9.14 lakhs during last with a record increase of 64.59%
· Milk/ Tea / Coffee served to pilgrims this year 11.32lakhs as against 8.49lakhs with a hike of 33.23%

VIGILANCE DEPARTMENT

· About 2800 vigilance, 4500, police, each one team of octopus and NDRF, 1300 Srivari Sevakulu exclusively for Vigilance department, 1200 scouts, guides and NCC cadets, 300 home guards deployed. For the first time the Community police service-Police Seva Dal with was also taken.
· Close co-ordination was maintained with the Police Department and all the Security arrangements for all VahanaSevas, Rathotsavams and Chakrasnanam were completed successfully, without any untoward incident.

ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

· In all Rs.5.03 crore spent on engineering works for Brahmotsavams works
· Spacious galleries created for benefit of devotees at Four Mada streets to facilitate 1.78 lakh persons.
· About 252 drinking water taps were arranged in four mada streets
MEDICAL DEPARTMENT
· About 64,989 patients treated as against 38,360 patients during last year with an increase of 67.23%

WATER CONSUMPTION

· This year 304.14lakhs gallons consumed this year as against 251.61lakh gallons last year, with an increase of 2.88%

APSRTC

· This year about 4,50,277 were transported to Tirumala as against 3,18,614 of last year with an increase 41.32%.
· While 6,05,271 passengers were taken down to Tirupati as against 3,37,823 with a hike of 79.17%

SALES WING OF PUBLICATIONS

· A Record amount of Rs.57,79,172 achieved as against Rs.3.70lakhs during last year in view of the advance sale of calendars, diaries of 2017 with an increase of 146.91%

SRIVARI SEVA

· About 3500 srivari sevakulu rendered services this year as against 2750 during last year with an increase of 27.27%

MEGA EXHIBITION :

· A mega exhibition of TTD’s activities in addition to its Srivari Temple management was displayed.
· The exhibition was organised professionally by a team of experts with coordination of all departments.
· Exhibition was out up in properly lighted and well displayed sections attracting the devotees to take selfies with the exhibits.
· 14 Departments showcased their achievements in Publications, Forest and Bio-diversity, Ayurveda, Gardens, Engineering, Sculpture and Museum.
· Next to Srivari Temple and the Mada streets, the Mega Exhibitions had the highest footfalls.
· Profiles from Epics-Mahabharata, Ramayana attracted the pilgrims.
· Plans afoot to further expand the Exhibition area to include many other areas of TTD activity to mirror its contribution to society.

CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

· TTD has completely rehauled its cultural focus during the Mada streets Vahana seva for Brahmotsavams.
· Focus is to give presentations as per the theme of the Vahanams which include bhajans and Vishesha Vesha Dharana.
· The HDPP also successfully organised Govinda nama smarana on the Mada streets by involving large number of devotees.
SVBC
· All the major events during brahmotsavams were live telecasted on SVBC for the sake of global devotees.

ISSUED BY PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER, TTDs, TIRUPATI