SWACCHA TIRUMALA – A ROLE MODEL TO ALL – COMPLIMENTS PM

Swacch Bharat Abhayan-the ambitious Keep India Clean slogan mulled by Central Government of India, has the hill town of Tirumala as one of the ten sites chosen for prestigious Swacch Iconic Heritage Sites in the country

Its not an exaggeration to mention here that the sacred Hill Town was even complimented by the honourable Prime Minister of India Sri Narendra Modi, for its cleanliness and hygienic environs in spite of over 90,000 footfall.

A TOWN THAT NEVER SLEEPS!

Spread over 32 sq kms of land and covered by 115 kms of arterial and ghat roads, with 24X7 human activities, Tirumala is a town that never sleeps. There are about 7000 odd cottages, 2000 plus shops.

ALMOST 100 TONS OF GARBAGE GENERATES ON A DAY DURING SUMMER

The generation of garbage is around 60-70 tonnes per day and sometimes it even crosses 100 mark especially during summer vacation. In this, 50% constitutes dry garbage and remaining wet garbage. “The biggest challenge is meeting the deadlines with every happening events- festival, VIP visits and of course the non-stop queue lines of pilgrims. 40% Forty percent of work is done by machines while 60 % is manual”, says Dr Sermista, the Health Officer of TTD.

GARBAGE AS NATURAL ORGANIC MANURE

Most of the garbage is transformed into organic manure with advanced machinery and is used in the gardens and forest plantations developed by TTD at Tirumala and Tirupati. TTD has recently taken up the beautification of Avilala Tank and used the organic manure to develop the greenery surrounding the water body while a portion is utilized in the growth of sandal wood plantation. Similarly, the garden wing utilizes this organic manure to develop flower beds in Tirupati.

TEMPLE CLEANING SERVICE WITH SRIVARI SEVAKULU

Dr Sermista says that the iconic Srivari temple is cleaned and maintained spotless by a team of 70 health workers, who works on a three shift basis.
Under the instructions of the TTD Executive officer Sri Anil Kumar Singhal, Srivari Seva Volunteers are roped in to temple cleaning service – “Alaya Swaccha Seva” which is yielding positive results. The Srivari Sevakulu who were overwhelmed by the new seva expressed their opinion, “We are very happy that we are also a part in the temple cleaning service. Whenever we come to Tirumala we always feel astonished the way the premises inside and outside temple are kept clean and tidy in spite of thousands of footfalls. Thanks to TTD for involving us also in the Temple Cleaning Service”, says and elated Mahalakshmi from Karimnagar.

ONGC FUNDS FOR “CLEAN TIRUMALA MISSION”

Thanks to the efforts of TTD mandarins, that ONGC and Coal India have come forward to fund for TTD’s mission of “Swaccha Tirumala” under Corporate Social Responsibility with a Rs.26crore proposal for beautifying Tirumala and transform it as a “Zero Garbage Zone”. The ONGC has already released Rs.6.7 crore as part of their commitment of Rs13 crore for “Clean Tirumala’ initiative under Swachh Bharat Mission.

ISSUED BY PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER, TTD, TIRUPATI