The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the trust that manages the Balaji temple in Tirupati, is gearing up to expand as it plans to build Lord Balaji temples and Balaji Bhavans.
According to a report in the Times of India, the TTD has decided to construct temples dedicated to the presiding deity, Lord Sri Venkateswara in Andhra Pradesh's proposed capital Amaravati, besides Chhattisgarh's capital Raipur and Gujarat's capital Gandhinagar.
"The TTD has decided to expand its activities to new places. To begin with, we will construct a grand temple in AP's proposed capital city. The TTD has written to the state government seeking land in or around Amaravati," TTD executive officer D Sambasiva Rao told the newspaper.
Work is also underway in Kurushetra, Delhi and Kanyakumari besides already established temples in Chennai, Bangalore and Hardwar.
The Chhattisgarh and Gujarat governments have agreed to donate land for the proposed temples while Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim have earmarked parcels of land in state capital cities, the report adds.
The Balaji Bhavans will be attached to the temples, and will have facilities like booking of darshan tickets and accommodation for Tirumala besides setting up 'laddu' weekend sale counters.
The TTD is the world's richest endowment body, with just the Tirumala temple raking in Rs 2,262.52 crore in overall revenue in 2014.