Karnataka: Balaji devotees to have cosy darshan at Tirumala soon

Mysuru: Mysuru Deputy Commissioner, who holds concurrent charge as Commissioner of Endowment Department, Rohini Sindhuri in said that the project at Tirumala, taken up by State government along with Andhra Pradesh government for the benefit of 50,000 devotees from Karnataka who visit Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam (TTD) every month, will provide accommodation facilities for over1800 devotees from State at a time.

In the press release issued here on Friday, Rohini Sindhuri said, "Historically the Tirumala Devasthanam was part of the Vijayanagar empire. Further, in the last 200 years, Maharajas of Mysuru emerged as the biggest patrons of the TTD by way of funding festivals, facilities for the devotees and serving the Lord Venkateshwara. And that historical legacy is lived by people of the State until today. This7-acre 05 kunta land at Tirumala, where the project aimed to provide accommodation to devotees from State is taken up, is a gift of the said legacy that the Endowment Department, Government of Karnataka had inherited. However, despite lakhs of devotees from Karnataka visiting Tirumala every year, there are no adequate facilities for them exclusively at Tirumala. The foundation stone of the last facility built for the people a the State, at Tirumala on the said land was laid by the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai about 60 years ago. The dream of building adequate facilities for the devotees had not materialised for many decades. So, the dream pursued by successive Karnataka governments is finally being realised now. The governments of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have come together to realise the vision by building world-class facilities for the devotees. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has laid foundation stone to it on 24 September 2020," Rohini Sindhuri said.

The project will provide accommodation facilities for over 1,800 devotees in an area of about 3.4 lakh square feet which includes Kalyana Mantapa and other facilities. It is said that it is mentioned in the Tiruvai Mulhi, a local purana, that the Lord of Seven Hills was known for his love of flowers. So, five dormitories here are being planned to be named after flowers including Kanakambaram, Sampige, Sevenathige, Mallige, Taavare. These five dormitories will have 375 rooms with built-in concrete bed and bedside ledges. And the plan for the facility is aesthetically designed with several features like antique front door, brass bells with lights, distressed wood false ceiling, collage of Mysore painting with antique frames, painted blocks wall art, wooden wall art, metal wall art and others.