TWO DAY SEMINAR ON PERSPECTIVES OF DARSHAN AT TIRUMALA TEMPLE – IInd Session

SECOND SESSION

Tirupati, 21 November 2010: The afternoon session was chaired by TTD specified authority member, Vice-chairman and Managing Director of AP Industrial Development Corporation Sri V.Nagi Reddy and the keynote address delivered by Sri IV Subba Rao, Establishment officer, DoPT, Government of India.

In his key note address Sri Rao felt that the Sudarshan system concept is more time saving. “The predictability will be more and even the uncertainity among the pilgrims could also be minimised”, he added.

Further elaborating the concept of Sudarshan, he said, the system enables the pilgrims to determine the quality of waiting time. “The pilgrims can also go to other places and make use of the available time without wasting or waiting in compartments”.

“With the increasing pilgrim crowd day by day, we cannot go on constructing compartments to accommodate the waiting pilgrims further. But for the comfortable stay of the pilgrims, TTD should think of a Divine theme park at Tirupati-“Divya Bharati” taking the routemap of the temples starting from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and set up the replicas of those temples in this park. They should also arrange a toy train facility to show the same to the pilgrims especially the children and create a divine ambience among them”, he added.

Sri Rao contradicted that re-entry of Universal Sudarshan system will show the impact on the coffers of the TTD as the pilgrims will be diverted to other places of pilgrimage. “When we introduced this system a decade ago, it faced serious criticisms and implications, but finally won the appreciation of the pilgrims. Even there is no shrinkage to TTD treasury. Any revolutionary system, during its intitial days of implementation faces the criticisms”, he maintained.

The former TTD executive officer also suggested TTD to go for Supadham-Moving Carpet concept to avoid push and pull of the pilgrims. “Whatever changes we bring or amenities we create is only for the sake of the pilgrims. More human kind of approach in facilitating better darshan to pilgrims is needed and adopted. I feel the Supadham-Sudarshanam and Divya Bharati will give a satisfactory visit to pilgrims”, he asserted.