Andhra Pradesh: Srivari Temple Trust decides to sell gold mangalsutra to devotees

Tirumala: Tirumala Tirumala Devasthanams (TTD) on Monday announced its decision to make gold mangalsutras and sell them to devotees as part of religious promotion. The decision was taken during the board meeting chaired by TTD chief Bhumana Karunakar Reddy. The mangalsutra worn by married Hindu women will be available in four to five designs weighing between five and 10 grams. They will be sold on cost-to-cost basis after placing them at the feet of Lord Venkateswara and receiving his blessings. Apart from this, the board has also decided to make Lakshmi Kasulu. Bhumana recalled that through the Kalyanamastu programme, he had conducted marriages of 32,000 poor couples during his previous tenure as TTD chairman. Stating that none of them had converted to other religions in the last 17 years, he said, “Starting the sale of Mangalsutralu will help couples further strengthen their bond.” Furthermore, he stressed that the temple trust had no intention of making profits from this initiative. TTD approves renovation of rest houses at Tirumala at Rs 10.9 crore During the meeting, the trustees also approved TTD’s annual budget of Rs 5,141.75 crore. The TTD approved several other decisions, including increasing the wages of 70 semi-skilled and unskilled contract laddu tray lifting workers in the pottu department from Rs 12,523 to Rs 15,000 per month. It was also decided to increase the salaries of contractual and outsourced employees working in various departments of TTD. Besides this, the temple trust approved increasing the salary of 51 Vedic teachers working in six Vedic schools of TTD from Rs 35,000 to Rs 54,000. The salaries of 138 sweepers and 79 cooks in the Annaprasadam department have been increased from Rs 22,000 to Rs 17,000 and they will now be classified as skilled workers. Similarly, employees of Electricity and Water Works Department will also be kept in the category of skilled labour. The board also approved increasing the salary of Kalamkari art expert Munaswamy Reddy from Rs 25,000 to Rs 39,000. It also approved a hike in the salaries of sculptors at the SV Institute of Traditional Sculpture and Architecture. The trustees decided to approve tenders for construction of gravel road in the additional 132.05 acres allotted at Padiredu Aranyam in Vadamalapet mandal. The board also resolved to seek the approval of the state government for creating religious posts at 26 sub-temples (227 posts) and 34 temples (288 posts). In view of the increasing demand for services at Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences, TTD decided to increase the number of beds from the existing 300 to 1,200. The board approved Rs 148 crore for the renovation of the five-decade-old hospital building. A tender worth Rs 30.71 crore was approved to develop the two-lane road from Akashganga to the Outer Ring Road in Tirumala into a four-lane road to deal with traffic problems. Tenders worth Rs 2.28 crore were approved to develop Saptagiri Rest House (Block No. 6 and 7). TTD also gave its nod for administrative sanction of Rs 10.90 crore for renovation of Sri Venkateswara, Adiseshu, Shankumitta Rest House at Tirumala. Approval of Rs 6.90 crore was also given for the construction of rajagopuram and stone prakaram for the ancient temple of Sri Bhadrakali Samitha Veerabhadraswamy temple at Narayanavanam. The Board also approved the introduction of Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP for a period of five years to manage the TTD administration transparently and efficiently.