The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which manages the affairs of the Sri Venkateswara temple atop Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh, reiterated that it was committed to ensuring that 75% of the jobs that it had to offer, would go to locals from Chittoor district.
Addressing a gathering on Republic Day, Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal said that all appointments of junior assistants would be filled on an ad hoc basis as per the TTD's requirement.
He also thanked the generosity of 36,000 donors who contributed nearly Rs 386 crore to the TTD during the promotion of all its activities.
The EO said that from January 20, the TTD had launched another unique devotees welfare programme by ensuring one free laddu to each devotee after Srivari darshan and a facility to buy additional laddus without any recommendations.
TTD Additional EO AV Dharma Reddy also addressed the gathering and said that they were ensuring hassle-free darshan and other amenities to pilgrims by weeding out corruption, black marketeers and middle men.
“During last Independence Day, we took a pledge to weed out middlemen and we succeeded doing so in darshan and laddu prasadam by bringing out reforms. Still, there is a need to bring some changes in the reception wing and ensure that the rooms are available to common pilgrims without any inconvenience," he said.
It was in November last year that the trust board of the TTD had passed a resolution to offer 75% of jobs to local youth and forwarded it to the state government for its consideration and approval. The reservation would be applicable to youth hailing from Chittoor district for jobs up to the scale of junior assistant, the TTD had said.
The proposal had come after the Andhra Pradesh government passed a Bill in the Legislative Assembly, aimed at providing 75% reservation for locals in industries and factories across the state, in July last year.