The Andhra Pradesh High Court’s order to immediately stop the ongoing gold plating of Tirumala temple works has spoiled Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Trust Board chairman D K Audikesavulu Naidu’s plans to visit US for a fortnight.
Along with DK, another 30 friends and relatives of TTD bigwigs were scheduled to leave for the US in the first week of May on a fortnight-long jaunt to take part in the Srivari Kalyanam at New Jersey and a few other areas. An official among the entourage said the TTD chairman had already sent message to the Telugu NRIs in the US to donate for gold-plating works. Some Telugu businessmen are expected to announce big donations for the project. The HC order came as a disappointment for all of us,” he said.
However, a section of the TTD employees said Adikesavulu Naidu’s idea behind the gold-plating project was to woo the industrialists and to “immortalize” his name in the history of Tirumala temple. “By involving his relatives as donors to the project, he made a royal road for them to have darshan of the Lord and to enjoy the donor benefits for the whole of their life time.”
