Tirumala Tirupati Temple Open or Not? 140 Staffers Test COVID Positive, Temple Board Says No Plan to Shut; Honorary Chief Priest Raises Concern

Tirumala temple had re-opened for pilgrims on June 8 after remaining closed for 80 days due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown.

New Delhi: Amid a row over opening the Tirumala Tirupati temple even as 140 staffers tested positive for COVID-19, a top member of the temple’s board told news channel NDTV that people can continue to visit the shrine for the darshan. “There are no plans to stop public darshan at Tirumala Tirupati Balaji temple,” the news channel quoted YV Subba Reddy, chairperson of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Board, as saying.

As many as 140 staff members of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) that governs Lord Venkateswara’s shrine at Tirumala have tested positive for COVID-19 since June 11.

Yesterday, Tirumala temple’s honorary chief priest A.V. Ramana Dikshitulu raised concern over the temple remaining open despite the growing number of Covid-19 cases among priests. He even warned of “a disaster”.

He tweeted on Thursday that 15 out of 50 archakas (priests) tested positive while results of 25 others are awaited. Tagging Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, he wrote that the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Executive Officer and Additional Executive Officer refused to stop ‘darshan’ and alleged that they are following “anti hereditary archaka and anti-Brahmin policy” of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and its chief Chandrababu Naidu. “Disaster if this continues. Please take action,” he wrote.

TTD chairman Y.V. Subba Reddy, however, differed with the honorary chief priest and claimed that the situation does not warrant closure of the temple for darshan.

Subba Reddy had told reporters after a meeting with priests that Ramana Dikshitulu should have conveyed his opinion to the TTD board instead of making a comment in social media.

He said it was not proper to give political colour to priests testing positive. “Making such comments before the media is not good. After our government came to power, the honorary chief priest was appointed and he is being paid the honorarium,” said Subba Reddy, who is the maternal uncle of the Chief Minister.

Tirumala temple had re-opened for pilgrims on June 8 after remaining closed for 80 days due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown.

Initially, the temple was allowing only 6,000 pilgrims per day with strict adherence to the Covid-19 protocol. The number of pilgrims was later doubled.