Tirupati temple trust urges AP govt to handover land allotted to private hotel

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) chairman B R Naidu on Tuesday said the temple body has requested the government to handover a parcel of land where a private hotel is reportedly being built.

The decision was taken in the board meeting of the TTD on Monday. The board intends to build a 'Devalokam' on the 20-acre parcel of land at Alipiri where the proposed 'Mumtaz Hotel' is to be constructed.

Some sections are opposing the hotel, claiming it will hurt the sentiments of Hindus.

"We are requesting (the) government of Andhra Pradesh to allot that land to the TTD, and then we will develop the Devalokam (TTD facility) there. That is why we are waiting for the government's decision," Naidu told PTI Video.

According to the TTD chairman, the land where the hotel is coming up was allotted to the Tourism Department, however, it gave it to a private entity for the construction of a hotel.

The newly appointed TTD chairman asserted that Tirumala is not a tourist destination. He questioned the need to encourage tourism at a pilgrimage centre, especially at a time when lakhs of people are descending on Tirumala and failing to get a glimpse of the deity.

He also accused the Tourism Department of selling tickets at inflated prices and highlighted that the state government has initiated a vigilance enquiry over the alleged irregularities under the previous YSRCP regime in the richest Hindu temple.