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[Guest guest]

FOR YOUR INFORMATION.

Thanks to each one of you for your help, support and efforts.

Pranamams to Pujya Sri SwamiJi.

 

"svbadri badri"

dear seetharam ji, i am prasad's friend and am passing this msg on his behalf.

i am glad the whole thing worked out very well and Jai Srimannarayana. namaste

badri

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09 August, 2004

 

As you are aware the 1000 pillared Mandapam was brought down in one stroke by

the TTD some time ago. Sri Sri Sri Tridandi Srimannarayana Ramanuja Chinna

Jeeyar Swamiji was very vocal in his opposition to this move as this wiped out

the 700 years plus of History from the sacred Hill.

 

There were plans by the government to bring down the Pedda Jeeyar Mutt as also

the Hathiramji Mutt, to facilitate the construction of the Mahaprakaram of the

Temple (expansion project).

 

Despite strong opposition from Sri Tridandi Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji, the

Devasthanam and the Government of Andhra Pradesh went on ruthlessly destroying

ancient structures on the Sacred Hill under the guise of providing extra

amenities to the pilgrims.

 

Vexed with the problem, following steps were taken by the Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji

today which has brought the desired results:

 

1. His devotees marched to Raj Bhavan, Hyderabad and presented a memorandum to

the Governor against senseless destruction of ancient monuments in the Tirumala

Hills.

2. Swamiji leaked out to the press that He might go on a Hunger strike if the

Government did not rescind its stand by the 11th of this month.

3. This brought the Endowment Minister to His doorstep this afternoon. After

consultations with the Swamiji the Department issued a press statement

rescinding its stand on construction of Mahaprakaram by demolishing further

monuments. In addition, the Government has also given a direction to the TTD

that the 1000 pillared Mandap has to be reconstructed using the same pillars

and restored to its pristine glory at the very site that it stood. The Press

statement released by the government is as under:

 

GOVERNMENT DECIDES TO RECONSTRUCT VEYYI KALLA MANDAPAM IN TIRUMALA

No: 1237 dated 09 Aug 2004

 

Government after taking note of public opinion and the sentiments of devotees

across the country, have decided to restore the Veyyi Kalla Mandapam to its

pristine glory. The restored Mandapam will have all the thousand pillars as of

yore, many of the pillars had collapsed and had been lost due to efflux of time.

The restoration shall ensure that all geographical features should also be

restored to the same condition as before. This includes the Mitta. The Mandapam

will be restored to its original location. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams

was directed to take up the work immediately. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams

was also directed not to take up the construction of Mahaprakaram according to a

memo issued by the Revenue Department.

 

ISSUED BY THE COMMISSIONER I&PR DEPARTMENT, HYDERABAD

Text ends

 

The ETV news at 9-00 P.M. showed the Endowment Minister, Sri Satyanarayana Rao

and the TTD Chairman, Sri T.Subbirami Reddy in consultation with Sri Tridandi

Swamiji along with the former Joint Executive Officer, TTD Sri Balasubramaniam.

Following is the translation of Swamiji’s interview to the TV channel:

 

QUOTE

 

“A mandapam built some 600-1000 years ago has been reduced to rubble. If a

Christian or Muslim institution was brought down in such a manner, thousands of

heads would have been hacked. This attack is happening only in case of Hindu

Temples and religious institutions. And blood would have flowed freely on the

streets. This should remain a sacred Temple, not a picnic spot as officials

intended to convert it. I hold the media and the officials involved also

responsible for state of affairs regarding Hindu religious matters. They cannot

wash off their sins by any explanations. I advise the media to make balanced

reporting in future”

 

UNQUOTE

 

I am also happy to inform you that the auction of 0.56 acres of land belonging

to the Hathiramji Mutt, Tirumala (land is situated at Tirupati) has also been

cancelled. I understand that there has been such a pressure on the Mutt and the

Government that they have called it off under a face saving formula that they

got a bid for Rs36 lakhs which is well below the market value. But a permanent

solution has to be found to stop such future auction plans by the Government of

Andhra Pradesh.

 

Namaste,

S.V.Badri