Agitation hits rituals at Srivari Temple,Tirumala ?
For the second time in known history archakas of Lord Venkateswara temple at Toirumala have threatened to go on mass leave tomorrow to participate in the Samaikhyandra agittion on Friday . According to Dr A V Ramana Dikshitulu and Bhattachrya , the Agama ritual consultant the rituals in Srivari temple on Friday would be performedby archakas and tachers of the Vedic Pathashala at Dharmagiri with the help of priests drawn from other temples of the Vaikhanasa cult in Temple town .
Only a select band of 40 priests of Vaikhanasa cult perform the daily rituals at Lord Venkateswara temple at Torumala on shift basis.�� 'But rituals in main tempe at Tirumala will not be stopped even if there is earth quake 'says Ramana Dikshitulu .At the most some of the special arjita sevas could be withheld but not the daily poojas like Suprabhatham, etc. Friday is the day of official Abhisekham for which devotees would ahve booked for years in avance ( 2 years advance) which can not be postponed or stopped.
TTD is upset that its servies are hit by the agitation as not only employees were stopped from entering the temples and offices but also the devotees are stopped from entering the Tiruapti and Tirumala through devious means .' Agitators say that without devotees what work can employees do ? and that is why we are dissuading the devotees from coming to Tirupati during the agitation period '. Meanthile the TTD has announed that there was a 40 percent reduction in revenue , 50 per cent fall in sales of laddus and other products .' But collection in hundi has remainede static , though it suffered for a day or two and came back to normalcy now