Siddhivinayak to deposit 44 kg gold ornaments with State Bank of India
A division bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court held that the gold plating work of the sanctum sanctorum of famous Tirumala temple undertaken by the Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam (TTD) was "illegal and unconstitutional".
'If you were to say today that the government should appoint judges to the high courts and Supreme Court, then I think that even those few good judges that we are getting today we would not get them.'
The scheduled caste organisations submitted a memorandum to President Pratibha Patil on Saturday night seeking her intervention in upholding the rights and equal opportunities bestowed upon them by the Constitution and 'infringed' by TTD in respect of worship and employment.
As it marks its platinum jubilee, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is intensifying its "socio-spiritual" campaign that aims at reaching out to Dalits, backward communities and tribals, bringing the message of Vedic religion to them.
Tirumala, the popular hill shrine in Andhra Pradesh, is embroiled in a gold coin scam following the alleged misappropriation of 300 gold coins, worth over Rs 15 lakh.
He was accompanied by his daughter Isha and son Anant
People who observed the way his wealth and political clout grew say his fortunes hchanged once the ruling establishment handed him control of sand quarrying in Vellore and Kanchipuram districts after 2011.
Hopping from one controversy to another, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam is facing serious allegations over irregularities in sale of tickets for paid rituals and 'missing' antique jewelry, offered to Lord Venkateshwara, the presiding deity of the famous temple.
Currently TTD offers four main e-services such as e-seva, e-accommodation, e-sudarshanam and e-hundi to the devotees and the Sri Seva project would help the administration in offering services like providing rooms, laddus as well as in tonsuring.
Bhatti Ramanadikshutulu, the chief priest of Kodandaramaswamy temple in Tirupati created a stir when he told the reporters that he had mortgaged a diamond necklace worth lakhs of rupees two years ago for an amount of Rs 9 lakhs to a moneylender.
This is Modi's second visit to the temple since he became the prime minister in 2014.
Early next month, the Madras high court will hear a unique case -- a petition challenging the geographical indications protection given to the famous Tirupati laddu, produced by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam.
After worshipping at the Sri Ranganayaka Mandapam, the vice president-elect was honoured with the sacred silk cloth and holy prasadams by the management of the shrine.
Reaching out to Dalits and backward classes, the administration of the Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirupati has launched several initiatives for the community including training them in performing temple rituals.
Balbir Singh Uppal, a Chandigarh-based industrialist, went for a darshan of Lord Venkateswara during the VIP break and soon after handed over seven pieces of puja items made of gold to TTD deputy executive officer G Balaramaiah.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam will spend up to Rs 100 crore for the construction of the temple.
The total collection came to about Rs 14 crore as against Rs 7.84 crore during the annual Brahmotsavam.
With about 40 per cent deficit rainfall during the monsoon season in parts of the state and shrinkage in sowing area, the Andhra Pradesh government has directed the Tirumala Tirupati Devastanam to "perform Yagnas" in temples to propitiate the rain God.
The temples are concerned about the religious sentiments of the devotees who donate gold ornaments in the name of the deities
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