Temple town under tight vigil for Brahmotsavams

TIRUPATI: The Brahmotsavams of Lord Venkateswara Swamy, which are considered to be one of the most important religious events, is going to be held under the eagle eye of various security bodies like TTD vigilance and security, police, special protection force and Octopus.

The nine-day mega fete which is being observed with grandeur every year in the hill town of Tirumala, is witnessed by thousands of devotees thronging from various parts of the country and even overseas to catch a glimpse of Lord Venkateswara on 16 different Vahanams during this festival.

TTD officials are busy making elaborate arrangements in order to provide a smooth darshan of both the presiding deity as well the vahana sevas. It is needless to say that year after year, along with the increase in pilgrim rush, the improvisation in the arrangements by TTD aims at providing a hassle-free darshan environment to every common devotee taking part in this mega religious fest.

However, for the smooth conduct of Brahmotsavams this time, the vigilance wing of the TTD in co-ordination with the police department is also making a wide range of arrangements, leaving no stone unturned, keeping in view the past experiences.

According to TTD vigilance officials, as many as 1,051 cameras were being set up at different vulnerable points in Tirumala including VQC 1, 2, inner and outer cordon, Mada streets, apart from existing 585 cameras to ensure a risk-free festival.

The vigilance sleuths in three special mufti teams will be on rounds 24X7 during the nine-day fete, especially on the day of Garuda seva to safeguard the pilgrims from miscreants.

Also, to check the price hikes by the hoteliers, a special squad consisting of vigilance, estate and revenue officials will carry out surprise checks and raids.

“The TTD has also fixed the price at Rs 70 per person for whoever travels in private jeeps. Several meetings were already conducted with all the private jeep owners, drivers in this regard by TTD vigilance wing and were given clear instructions that overcrowding, overcharging and over speeding jeeps will be severely penalized,” a TTD official said.

 Meanwhile, on the day of Garuda Seva which falls on October 4, about 1,000 personnel will be manning the procession which includes 350 vigilance sleuths, 150 home guards, 200 each srivari sevakulu and scouts, 100 NCC. In addition to this, over 4,000 police personnel and more than 500 special protection forces and Octopus will be deployed at Tirumala and Tirupati as well.

“The central command control also known as the C-Cube Complex will be monitoring the entire security activity in Tirumala. There are 15 staff members working under the control of a vigilance Inspector in three shifts to observe the activities round the clock,” a vigilance official explained.