Covid-19: Tirumala not a containment zone, clarifies Chittoor collector

39 Andhra Pradesh special police personnel posted at Tirumala test Covid-19 positive

Chittoor collector Dr Bharath Gupta has clarified that Tirumala is neither designated as a Red Zone nor is a containment cluster.

A list of containment clusters released by the officials earlier on Thursday mentioned Tirumala, creating confusion among the locals and a prospect of panic among the pilgrims.

The famous Lord Venkateswara temple, located on the Tirumala hill in Chittoor district, reopened for the public on 11 June after an 80-day break because of the Covid-19 lockdown.

“Tirumala was added to the list by mistake. Only the 200 meters area around the Andhra Pradesh Special Police barracks, where 39 security personnel have tested positive, has been marked as a containment zone as per the ICMR guidelines,” Gupta said.

These barracks are located on the way to Papavinasanam, far away from the temple, officials said.

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“There should not be any misunderstanding for the pilgrims. Proper arrangements with safe distancing are in place for darshan,” the collector said.

17 TTD employees tested positive till Saturday, according to TTD board chairman YV Subba Reddy who pointed that “the affected acquired the virus in their respective places and not in Tirumala.”

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams has decided not to enhance the pilgrim footfalls in the temple till July end, as the Covid-19 cases continue to surge in alarming numbers in AP and neighboring states.

Chittoor, bordering Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, is one of the more affected districts with 2,001 positive cases and 17 deaths.

Against the about 75,000 pilgrims having darshan daily before the pandemic, TTD is now allowing 12,000 devotees per day, 9,000 of them booking time slot darshans online. Darshans resumed initially with around 6,000 pilgrims.

Meanwhile, adding to their Covid-19 eradication measures, TTD officials have arranged a tri-ozone spraying system at the temple entrance.

“The Hydroxyl Pre-Radical ion in the system emanates like fog thereby killing the micro viruses if any, in the vicinity. The system acts as a protective shield for the devotees and employees from the dreadful diseases,” officials said.

Overall, Andhra Pradesh has, till Thursday morning, recorded 23814 Covid-19 cases and 277 deaths.