Babu to take up Tirumala yatra

After drawing the attention of the country to the Babli project, the Telugu Desam president, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, has now decided to undertake a padayatra on August 7 and 8 to the abode of Lord Venkateshwara, Tirumala to expose the “misdeeds” going on at Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam and other temples in Chittoor.

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) and other temples under the Government Endowment Department in Chittoor district have been in the news for all the wrong reasons of late. Recently the government got a wake up call regarding the pathetic conditions at the temples when the Vijayagopuram near the famed Srikalahasti temple near Tirupati collapsed.

Mr Naidu and other Telugu Desam leaders will stage a dharna in front of the TTD Executive Officer’s office at Tirupati on August 7 to protest against the irregularities in TTD and other temples under its management and then undertake a padayatra to Tirumala.

The Telugu Desam chief will begin the padayatra from Alipiri (foot hills of Tirumala), where he had escaped from the jaws of death in a mine blast triggered by Maoists, and reach the Lord Venkateshwara Swamy Temple at Tirumala, about 14 km away.

Mr Naidu and his team will stage a silent protest in front of the temple, have darshan of the Lord and return to Tirupati. Since all kinds of political protests are banned atop the hill, one has to wait and see if the authorities allow the Naidu brigade to visit Tirumala.

On August 8, the TD leaders will visit the site of the Vijayagopuram at Srikalahasti temple which collapsed recently and also visit the Vinayaka temple at Kanipakam.