TTD announces action plan to make Tirumala plastic free

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) will be implementing its project of Plastic-free Tirumala in three stages.

According to Additional E O A V Dharma Reddy, use of plastic water bottles will be banned in all TTD departments at Tirumala within a week.

The heads of departments were told to generate a certificate to the effect that no plastic bottle is utilized in their office and only TTD Jalaprasadam water is to be used.

In the second stage, at all TTD rest houses when devotees arrive to get their room keys, they will be advised not to bring any plastic.

In the third stage, a meeting of all eateries and restaurants at Tirumala will be held to urge them not to use water bottles and use water from Jalaprasadams and implement this within fifteen days.

TTD will then issue notices to the agencies that supply water bottles to Tirumala. Further on bringing of water bottles in all transport vehicles like cars and buses will be stopped at the Alipiri and water bottles will not be allowed from that point.

Adding further the E O said that it was found that free laddu tokens in sarva darshan were being misused by unscrupulous elements.

"Here afterwards Laddu token with be bar-coded and access cards will be issued which undergoes scanning for two times. If the laddu tokens are not scanned the data will not come on the screen at the laddu counters and no laddu will be issued. It will also put an end to the misuse of laddu tokens by middlemen," he said.

Kasthubham, Panchajanyam, Nandakam, Vakula rest houses will all have a uniform room tariff at Rs 1,000 per day with the provision of all amenities and security.

All the rooms have the same size and facilities in all the rest houses and a team of officers will be on regular rounds of inspections every day.

The GMR corporate group has come forward to take up the maintenance and up keep of the gardens in Tirumala and also the gardens in the rest houses etc. They will complete the first phase by November end.