Major development regarding Tirupati - pardon the sarcastic humor :-)

July 22, 2003

ISKCON devotees should know that they may get "booted" out of the line -

sometimes is a 3 hour wait for darshan - if they don't follow the new

rules...

Online edition of India's National Newspaper - The Hindu

Tuesday, Jul 22, 2003

> Gadgets banned in Tirumala temple

>

> By Our Special Correspondent

>

> TIRUPATI. JULY 21. As part of an exercise to augment security in and

> around the Tirumala temple complex, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams

> (TTD) has decided to ban cell phones, cameras and other electronic

> gadgets.

>

> The TTD's Chief Vigilance and Security Officer, Damodar, said the ban had

> become imperative in view of the fact that electronic gadgets were found

> to have been used to cause explosions on 127 occasions the world over by

> saboteurs. He told presspersons that since the pilgrimshad been allowed to

> carry electronic gadgets to the temple, the ban would be imposed in

> stages.

>

> In the meantime, the TTD would take steps to give wide publicity to the

> ban and would ask the pilgrims not to carry the gadgets either in their

> rooms or outside the temple before entering the shrine. Mr. Damodar said

> once the ban was enforced strictly, anyone found carrying any of the

> banned gadgets would be sent out. Mr. Damodar said the TTD was also trying

> to get in touch with all major cell phone service providers to ask them to

> send SMS to their rs about the ban.

>

> It would arrange to distribute handbills to the pilgrims at the toll gate

> itself, besides using the public address system to publicise the ban.

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