Employees at Tirumala vow to protect temple sanctity

In the wake of reports of proselytisation attempts of an evangelical group, around 4,000 employees of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) on Saturday pledged to protect the sanctity of their temple which houses the Lord Venkateswara deity.

The TTD employees, who were dressed in traditional attire with a “tilak,” assembled at the office of joint executive officer K S Srinivasa Raju at Gokulam Guest House to take oath.

According to a TTD release, Raju spoke to the employees about how it was a matter of pride that Hindus had made them the country’s richest and biggest custodian of the Hindu Sanatana Dharma, the caretaker of the world famous Venkateswara hill shrine. “So the entire world looks at us on each and every action or inaction. Our salaries come from pilgrims’ offerings, so it becomes the foremost responsibility and duty of every TTD employee to protect the sanctity of the temple.”

He said all employees at Tirumala should be vigilant against sacrilegious elements. “If some miscreants are trying to defame the reputation of our temple and institution, every employee should become a vigilance sleuth and come forward to protect the sanctity and pristine glory of Lord Venkateswara, since we are the identity of Hindu Religion,” the TTD joint executive officer said.

Earlier, Srivari temple deputy executive officer C Ramana advocated that no force could distract the unity of the TTD workforce. “For us the glory of Lord Venkateswara and reputation of the institution are more important than our families. So all of us should be strong enough to fight any consequences pertaining to our lord and religion,” Ramana said.