It is very difficult to move forward an inch on the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam without bribing.Even the free prasadam is sold inside the temple.The free food provided by the TTD is not tasty. It is not like full meals and curd extra , but it is like diluted sambar rice served in the hostel.You can find brokers any where and everywhere right from the railway station to the Lord Balaji .Even inside the sanctum sanctorium you are forced to offer money to stand before the Lord for some extra time.There is no vigilance of any sort.Money plays the game and with money you can get everything.As a common man it is very difficult to get a room and also a darshan on Tirumala.Even the barber gives you a VIP treatment if you look posh and then cuts your pocket after the head shave.
Its a temple town ruled by Middlemen.You can find these Dalals on all counters.You can see scrolling on televisions that it takes 48hours for the darshan of Lord Balaji.But if you have contacts try things can be done in an hour’s time. Even in the age of internet you get the darshan the next day.File the letter today get the darshan tomorrow.There is no guarantee for a room. But if you have money you can get a darshan in the morning and also in the evening.The free Upma served on the streets has no takers as it is very bad in taste.The free milk given on the roads is hot but not pure.
The new government which has taken over should look into the issues very seriously and as promised by our new Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy the systems should be cleansed. The new TTD chairman should make surprise visits on all the counters of all services and put an end to the corrupt people othewise the people will sell the Lord also in black market. A lot of cheating goes on at the Lord’s abode.If people can turn around and take bribe in front of the cameras by turning around who can stop the corruption here ?
If the right step is not taken at the right time the TTD will go to the dogs. All kinds of awareness about the free services and the paid services should be publicized in a big way . One must be in a position to get all the services connected to the Lord under one roof. A devotee should be in a position to get everything booked on his Internet from home whereever he is.
One should not be forced to run around from pillar to post in the name of JEO office, MBC so on and so forth. A pilgrim must get all the confirmed receipts at his home on his own with all the payments done. Waiting for the rooms, waiting for the confirmation of Darshan itself takes a lot of time and energy. So make all the services reachable on internet from every where and anywhere across the world. It looks like the Lord Balaji should come in a new Avatar to stop all the mall practices and corruption here at the TTD!
Om Namo Venkatesya!
U. Srinivas(Editor)
