TTD to beef up security on Tirumala Hills

• Meeting held to seek cooperation of mutt officials, shop owners
• 30 mutts atop the Tirumala Hills
• Room renting regulations streamlined
• Shop owners to issue photo ID cards to employees

Tirumala (Tirupati): With a view to strengthen security measures on the Tirumala hills, officials of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) on Thursday held a meeting with the managers of different mutts and shop owners on the hills to ascertain their views regarding the security measures and seek their cooperation. The meeting was in the aftermath of the Dilsukhnagar bomb blasts on February 21 and the resultant alerts from the Central and State security agencies. The TTD officials strongly advised the traders and owners of the mutts to install closed circuit cameras and issue photo identity cards to the employees without fail. They said that the Tirumala temple was on the hit list of various terrorist groups and it was imperative that the security has to be tightened. Thus, people running the mutts and doing business on the hill have to be very careful. There are over 30 mutts atop the Tirumala Hills and the pilgrims check into these mutts that were being run without following any safety guidelines. Those who are willing to pay more are given rooms on rent. In the past, intelligence groups were shocked when they came to know that the one eyed jack Sivarasan, who was involved in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, also took shelter in one of these mutts at Tirumala for about a week hoodwinking the security forces. The TTD has stepped up vigilance activities on the mutts and also imposed restrictions for giving accommodation in a haphazard manner. According to the new guidelines, while renting rooms, the finger prints of all the pilgrims have to be taken, a photograph with an Irish camera has to be taken and CC cameras have to be installed in the mutts without fail. Information has to be provided on the pilgrims on a daily basis. The TTD has also established a shopping mall for the convenience of the devotees. It is also in the process of collecting details of workers employed in various shops atop the Tirumala hills as they come from different parts of the country. The shop owners have to issue photo ID cards to them and also provide details to the security forces. Speaking to the media, TTD Chief Security Officer Ashok Kumar said that by April 15, the shop owners have to issue photo ID cards compulsorily to the employees. As the Tirumala hills were always flooded with lakhs of pilgrims every day, the region may become an easy target for terrorists and that was why it is very important to be extra careful with regards to the implementation of security measures. Careful measures were also being taken to prevent fire accidents on the hills.