Darshan time at Tirumala temple to be reduced using AI

Tirupati, Nov 18 : The darshan time at Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple here will be reduced from 20-30 hours to just 2-3 hours by using advanced technology including Artificial Intelligence, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Board announced after its maiden meeting under new Chairman B.R. Naidu on Monday.

The TTD board, which manages the affairs of the famous hill shrine, took some important decisions.

TTD board chief, along with Executive Officer J. Syamala Rao, later briefed the media about the decisions taken at the meeting. It reversed some decisions and decided to review some other decisions taken by the earlier boards during the last five years of YSR Congress Party rule.

The board will write a letter to the state government to make an appropriate decision about the non-Hindus working in Tirumala.

Soon after taking over as TTD Chairman recently, Naidu had said that only Hindus should work in the TTD. It also decided to ensure that no political statements are made in Tirumala.

"If necessary, legal action will be taken against those making such statements as well as those who propagate them," it said.

The board gave its nod to dispense with the Tourism Corporations Darshan quota of various states after a thorough examination of the complaints regarding irregularities in the issue of SED tickets under this category.

Keeping in view the safety of TTD deposits, a decision will be taken in the next board meeting to deposit them in the nationalised banks by withdrawing the already deposited ones from private banks.

The TTD, which was recently rocked by the allegations of using ghee adulterated with animal fat in the laddu prasadam, decided to use ghee of high quality. The board decided to merge the Srivani Trust into the TTD account and consider the possibility of changing its name while continuing the scheme.

The TTD under YSRCP rule had formed the trust to propagate the Hindu religion besides the construction of Sri Venkateswara temples across the country. The then-opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Jana Sena had alleged misappropriation of trust funds. Then Leader of the Opposition Chandrababu Naidu had claimed that the trust money was diverted as the donors were not issued receipts.