Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam to help Badri Kedar Temple Committee with crowd management

It has been learnt that the MoU will be signed on October 7 for which technical assistance will be provided to TTD for crowd management in Kedarnath Dham which saw a huge rush of devotees this year.

Dehradun: The Badri Kedar Temple Committee managing the Kedarnath Dham is signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam for crowd management in Kedarnath Dham. It has been learnt that the MoU will be signed on October 7 for which technical assistance will be provided to TTD for crowd management in Kedarnath Dham which saw a huge rush of devotees this year.

The MoU is expected to strengthen the arrangements in Kedarnath Dham. As per official figures, a total of 13.45 lakh pilgrims have visited Kedarnath this year even as about 40 lakh pilgrims have reached Chardham Yatra so far. Kedarnath is considered the most sacred among the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva.

It is in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand. According to the Hindu belief, Kedarnath Dham is considered to be the abode of Lord Shiva. The description of Kedarnath Dham is also found in the Puranas. This temple opens for darshan from the middle of April to November. This temple is made of stones in the Katyuri style.

It was built by the grandson of Pandavas, Maharaja Janmejaya. The Swayambhu Shivling situated here is very ancient. This temple was renovated by Adi Shankaracharya. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthan located in Andhra Pradesh is considered to be one of the richest temples in the country and receives the highest donations.

Every year lakhs of people visit this temple situated on the hills of Tirumala to seek the blessings of Lord Venkateswara (Lord Vishnu). The temple is open to followers of all religions. These pilgrims are fully looked after by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthan (TTD). As per officials, the TTD is expected to collect Rs 365 crore revenue in 2022-23 from the sale of 'Laddoo Prasadam' only.

According to the figures released by the temple on 26 September, TTD has 960 properties across the country worth Rs 85,705 crore. The latest figures of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam have come at a time when the monthly income of TTD through temple donation (hundi) has increased steadily for the last five months.

From April this year till now, the total donation through Hundi has been more than Rs 700 crore. The governing board of the ancient Lord Venkateswara Temple of Tirumala had estimated an income of Rs 3,096.40 crore in the annual budget of 2022-23. Out of the annual revenue of the temple, about Rs 1,000 crore is estimated to be received from devotees in the sacred 'hundi' i.e. donation box.