TIRUMALA: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Board of Trustees has decided to increase the retirement age of its Class IV employees (Work Charge Establishment, Last Grade Subordinated Services) from 58 to 60. Briefing mediapersons after the board meeting here on Sunday, board chairman K Bapi Raju said the board would send the proposal to the state government for its approval.The board also decided to honour the government’s request for providing free textbooks to girl students of Intermediate in government colleges across the state under Sri Padmavati Pustaka Prasada Vitarana scheme.It, however, put off a decision on free textbooks also to girls studying at governmentaided colleges until a feasibility was undertaken. The government was urged to provide the indent for the textbooks well in advance so that books can be distributed in time.Last year, the TTD had incurred Rs 4.65-crore expenditure on the scheme and if the government’s request for free supply of textbooks to students of aided colleges was to be honoured, the TTD could be bearing an additional Rs 2-crore expenditure.The TTD board resolved to formally ban carrying of cell phones and cameras into the queue lines and inside the temple. As of today, there is no formal ban and a ban is being enforced purely for security reasons.The board asked the managements of agencies to take action against security personnel on duty if a camera or cell phone was seized inside the queue line. As of now, only the equipment is being seized and being deposited in the Hundi as an offering.To help pilgrims retrieve their belongings including luggage, cameras and cell phones, it has been decided to open a centralised Luggage Retrieval Centre at the old annadanam complex.A visitor can deposit his belongings at any luggage counter on Tirumala and collect them back at any location convenient to him.A committee headed by endowment commissioner and TTD board member J Balaramaiah was formed to study the issue of contract workers and submit a report to the board at its next meeting.The board bluntly rejected the request of the tourism department for allotment of rooms in the newly-built Vishnu Nivasam and additional rooms in Srinivasam along, and a proportionate increase in the quota of darshan tickets issued to its tourists.It said the TTD spends Rs 17.45 lakh a month on maintenance of Vishnu Nivasam and thus suffers a nearly Rs 2-crore loss a year."Being a service organisation, the TTD has to take care of the thousands of pilgrims whereas the Tourism Corporation operates with profit motto. As such, there is no need for the TTD to provide the APTDC rooms in any of its cottages,’’ the board felt.Board members R Suryapraskah Rao, C Mutyam Reddy and M Rajeswari, executive officer LV Subrahmanyam, principal secretary (endowment, revenue) KV Ramanachary and endowment commissioner J Balaramaiah participated in the baord’s meeting.
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