The AP High Court has against turning Tirumala temple, where the living deity of Kali Yuga, Srivaru resides, into a concrete jungle. It has ordered the TTD officials to keep a constant eye on the constructions on the Tirumala hill.
The High Court has expressed concern that if such illegal constructions are allowed on the hill, the forest area there will disappear after some time. It has warned that strict action will be taken if constructions are carried out in Tirumala at will, claiming to be religious institutions.
To this extent, it has issued notices to the Principal Secretary of the AP Endowments Department, TTD EO and several monasteries to file a counter with complete details on this matter. Mahesh from Tirupati has approached the High Court alleging that religious institutions are carrying out constructions at will in Tirumala, but TTD officials are not taking action.
In the PIL, he has requested the TTD to issue orders to prevent such constructions. A bench comprising Chief Justice of the High Court, Justice Dheeraj Singh Thakur and Justice Chimalapati Ravi heard the arguments of both the parties.
Lawyer Sumanth, representing the TTD, reminded the High Court bench that action had been taken recently as per the orders of the High Court regarding the illegal construction undertaken by a monastery.
Meanwhile, as part of the third phase of the inquiry into the Vaikunta Ekadashi Tokens Stampede, Justice Satyanarayana Murthy, the Judicial Inquiry Commission, will also examine the management of queue lines in Tirumala on the 14th, 15th and 16th of this month.
District Collector Venkateswar, TTD EO Shyamala Rao and SP Harshavardhan Raju have already been summoned to appear in person at the hearing to be held in Tirupati from the 17th of this month. Justice Satyanarayana Murthy also virtually interrogated the victims of the stampede that took place in Tirupati on January 8 during the issuance of Vaikuntha Dwara Darshan tokens on February 24 from Vijayawada.
It is known that the state government has appointed a single-member judicial inquiry commission into this incident. The second phase of the inquiry was conducted by the chairman of the commission, Justice Satyanarayana Murthy, at the Tirupati Collectorate on February 22. 11 people were examined.
