Latest news with #Venkateswara
Mint
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
Actor Sonu Sood prays for 'happiness', 'prosperity' at Lord Venkateswara temple
Tirumala (Andhra Pradesh) [India], June 2 (ANI): Bollywood actor Sonu Sood visited Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala to offer prayers on Monday morning. The temple, dedicated to Lord Venkateswara, considered an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, is one of the most visited religious sites in India, attracting millions of devotees annually. While speaking to ANI after offering prayers at the temple, the 'Fateh' actor shared details about his upcoming project and recalled his first visit to the Lord Venkateswara temple 25 years ago. "When I came here for the first time, it was 25 years ago. Today, I come here with my family. I pray for happiness, peace and prosperity for all in the world. We are starting a new project, a film 'Nandi' - I am acting and directing both. It will begin soon," said Sonu Sood. The actor donned a peach pink Kurta for his holy visit to the Lord Venkateswara Temple. Sonu Sood was recently honoured with a prestigious Humanitarian Award at the Grand Finale of the 72nd Miss World Festival in Telangana for his philanthropic work during COVID-19. This special honour recognises his exceptional service to humanity and unwavering commitment to social upliftment through his foundation. The actor was conferred the Humanitarian Award on the grand finale of Miss World at the HITEX Arena in Hyderabad as part of the festival's final celebrations. In addition to receiving this global honour, Sonu Sood also served as one of the official judges for the grand finale, joining a distinguished panel to crown the next Miss World. (ANI)
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
YSRCP is trying to defame TTD, destabilise govt: NDA
1 2 Tirupati : Leaders of the National Democratic Alliance ( NDA ) have accused the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) of attempting to sow conspiracies along religious lines to defame the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) with the intention of destabilising the incumbent govt. It may be recalled that on Friday night, a devotee in the Sarvadarshan queue created ruckus by accusing the TTD management of subjecting devotees to extreme hardships by not providing them with food and other refreshments during their hours-long wait in the queues for the darshan. The incident had immediately gone viral on various social media platforms. In an immediate response to the accusations, when the TTD administration reached out to the devotee, he retracted from his previous statements, stating he was feeling uncomfortable in the queue lines and hence, had levelled the accusations against the management. He also acknowledged that there was a continuous supply of food, milk and other refreshments for devotees waiting in the queues. Considering this was done with malafied intention, TTD additional EO Ch Venkaiah Choudary warned people to excercise restraint before resorting to malicious propaganda against TTD as it is linked to sentiments of millions of devotees of Lord Venkateswara. After an enquiry was carried out regarding the incident, the ruling TDP labelled the man, who had allegedly raised slogans in the queue line, as a YSRCP activist. HRD minister Nara Lokesh posted on X that the devotee who had tried to resort to false propaganda at Tirumala was a YSRCP activist identified as Baddili Acha Rao, a resident of Timmapuram village in Kakinada rural mandal. "Yet another conspiracy of the YSRCP at the sacred abode of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala has been exposed. While trying to execute their plans to perfection, miscreants recorded the propaganda and circulated it on social media. TTD management, led by its chairman BR Naidu, are committed to the welfare of the common devotees visiting Tirumala. Such conspiracies by the YSRCP on the sacred hill town will not be tolerated, and rather, will be dealt with in a stringent manner," the HRD minister warned .
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
TTD initiates trial of anti-drone surveillance system at Tirumala
In a proactive move to strengthen security around Lord Venkateswara temple, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has initiated the trial of a cutting-edge anti-drone surveillance system. The aim is to enhance aerial security and prevent unauthorised drone activity in the airspace of the temple town. The move comes in light of heightened national security concerns and recent war-like scenarios at the country's frontiers. TTD Chairman B.R. Naidu, Executive Officer J. Shyamala Rao and Additional EO Ch. Venkaiah Chowdary recently took part in a demonstration carried out by a Hyderabad-based drone manufacturing company. They urged the police and vigilance officials to examine the proposed anti-drone system and submit a report within ten days. The company is learnt to have been manufacturing anti-drone systems with Israeli technology. In light of the anti-drone system recently installed by the Central government at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the TTD officials are preparing plans to implement similar security measures in Tirumala and seek the support of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) in this regard.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Time of India
TTD additional EO inspects queue lines as waiting time for Darshan stretches upto 18 hours at Tirumala
TIRUPATI: Tirumala, the sacred abode of Lord Venkateswara, continues to attract a huge turnout of devotees from across the globe, as the waiting time for Darshan once again stretched up to the 18-hour mark on Saturday. While 71,721 pilgrims had Darshan at the Tirumala temple on Friday, close to 90,000 pilgrims were scheduled to have their Darshan on Saturday. With the summer vacations drawing to an end in June, Tirumala remained in the grip of an unprecedented pilgrim rush, especially in the last few days. As serpentine queue lines became the order of the day, pilgrims were seen waiting with their families in the queue lines, which stretched up to Silathoranam. TTD Additional EO Ch Venkaiah Choudary inspected the outside queue lines at Tirumala on Saturday. During his inspections, Venkaiah Choudary interacted with the pilgrims and sought their feedback on the supply of food and other refreshments to them while they were in the queue lines. He personally checked the quality of free food being distributed to the devotees. Later, the additional EO directed the TTD's Annaprasadam department to ensure round-the-clock supply of drinking water, milk, food, etc., by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Pruébalo cuanto antes Nuevo Qashqai Híbrido Obtén ofertas Undo to reduce the inconvenience caused to the devotees while they were waiting in the queue lines. The sanitation and health department was instructed to keep the toilets clean 24/7 for the convenience of the pilgrims. Meanwhile, Venkaiah Choudary directed the temple staff to speed up Darshan inside the temple complex so that the waiting time for Darshan comes down at least marginally. He also instructed the vigilance and security department sleuths to keep a strong tab on the pilgrim movements in the queue lines and at other high pilgrim congregation points at Tirumala. TTD Additional EO told reporters that the Devasthanams was following the instructions of Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu to facilitate Darshan for more common devotees. Hence, the VIP break Darshan on recommendation letters was cancelled till July 15 to cope with the heavy influx of pilgrims during the summer season. Venkaiah Choudary took strong exception to the manner in which some mischievous elements were resorting to false propaganda against the TTD in a bid to defame the institution. 'TTD will initiate legal proceedings against all those involved in malicious campaigns against the Tirupati trust,' the additional EO warned. 'Yesterday, a devotee raised slogans complaining about the non-supply of food and other refreshments in the queue lines. When we reached out to the devotee, he retracted his statement by claiming that he made false accusations as he was waiting in the queue lines for long. He himself confirmed that food and other refreshments were continuously being distributed to the devotees in the queue lines. But the entire episode was portrayed in a completely different manner to defame TTD, and such actions will not be spared,' Venkaiah Choudary warned.
Indian Express
7 days ago
- General
- Indian Express
11 lakh meals, 4.5 lakh beverages, 3.3 lakh devotees and a leopard – Lord Venkateswara temple opens for summer
Tirumala's Lord Venkateswara temple is witnessing an extraordinary rush this summer, with 3,28,702 devotees having darshan in just four days, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which manages the temple, has said. On May 25, a record number of 91,538 devotees had darshan in over 18 hours. On Tuesday, TTD officials and the state forest department scrambled to ensure the safety of devotees who walk up the Alipiri footpath through the forested hills to the temple, after a leopard was spotted along the route. Officials said that in spite of the scare, devotees did not hesitate, and that adequate arrangements have been made by posting guards to ensure their safety. On Tuesday, TTD executive officer J Syamala Rao held a meeting with the TTD forest department, the state forest department, and others on how to manage leopards straying into the path of pilgrims. Moreover, in view of the ongoing summer vacation, TTD has made extensive arrangements to ensure the smooth movement and darshan of devotees, its joint executive officer V Veerabrahmam said. Srivari Seva Volunteers posted at the site are distributing food and beverages to devotees. The arrangements mean an additional 10,000 devotees can have darshan each day as compared to regular days. Between Thursday and Sunday, when 3,28,702 devotees had darshan of Sri Venkateswara, the Annaprasadam department served 10,98,170 meals and 4,55,160 beverages (tea/coffee/milk/buttermilk) to the devotees. As many as 1,52,587 devotees tonsured their hair, and 12,172 availed medical services provided by the TTD medical department at various locations in Tirumala. The health department is maintaining a supply of drinking water and cleanliness, with 2,150 sanitary workers, supervisors, inspectors, and unit officers deployed in three shifts. In view of the upcoming annual Brahmotsavams of Sri Govindaraja Swamy temple, scheduled to be held from June 2 to June 10, TTD executive officer J Syamala Rao instructed officials to make elaborate arrangements, keeping in mind the summer conditions. He emphasised the need for facilities such as shade pandals, whitewashing, and paintings to enhance the temple's festive look. On Tuesday, in view of the increased movement of wild cats in the area, a review meeting was held at the TTD office. Syamala Rao said it was decided to deploy additional forces. 'More measures are being taken to ensure the Alipiri footpath is a no-leopard zone, which include camera traps, bio-fences, net-guns, high flash torches, and pepper sprays,' an official said. In August 2023, a six-year-old girl who got separated from her parents while walking along the Alipiri stairs was found dead the next day. Two months earlier, a three-year-old boy was also attacked by a wild animal on the footpath route, but survived the attack.
