The foundation stone for a Venkateswara temple of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) was laid in Jammu on June 13. The ceremony was attended by Union ministers G Kishn Reddy and Jitendra Singh, as well as Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. The Venkateswara Swamy Temple and its allied infrastructure will be built on a 62.06-acre piece of land at Majhin village near Jammu. The temple's administration will be under the TTD, which also manages the hill shrine of Venkateswara at Tirumala near Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, one of the most popular and wealthiest Hindu shrines in the world.
TTD chairman YV Subba Reddy along with other board members, including legislators, attended the ceremony. Many local political leaders, civil and police officers and heads of urban local bodies and panchayati raj institutions were also part of the event. The Jammu and Kashmir administrative council, headed by Lt Governor Sinha, on April 1 had approved a proposal to allot land to the TTD for building the temple and its allied infrastructure on lease basis for a period of 40 years. Subsequently, 62.02 acres of land at Majhin was given to the TTD for building the temple, amenities for pilgrims, a Veda Pathashala, a spiritual and meditation centre, an office, residential quarters and parking.
The arrival of the TTD in Jammu and Kashmir will tap the tourism potential, particularly pilgrim tourism in Jammu, besides enhancing economic activities, an official spokesman said. "Once developed, the TTD infrastructure will be an attraction for pilgrims and tourists in addition to the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine and Amarnathji Shrine," he said, adding that this development will contribute to the economic growth of the region. Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina, who was among those who attended the event, said, "Jammu is a city of temples and the addition of the most revered Balaji temple in the city would benefit the people."
National Conference provincial president Devender Singh Rana expressed hope that the local people would be provided jobs and ample opportunities in the construction activities of the temple. "We are hopeful that it will become a major attraction for the people of northern India and will give a boost to religious tourism," he said.
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