The reports that Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams chairman B R Naidu and executive officer J Shyamala Rao indulged in a wordy duel in the presence of chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu at a review meeting on Tirupati stampede issue last week created an uneasy atmosphere in the TTD.
Even at the TTD trust board meeting a day later, there were reports that both the chairman and EO blamed each other for the chaos in the board. Apparently, Naidu took serious note of the development and asked them to put an end to the crisis.
On Monday, both B R Naidu and Shyamala Rao addressed a joint press conference and denied the rumours that there is a wide gap between them. They appealed to the devotees not to get carried away by this false propaganda on Tirumala.
They refuted the reports that the incident took place due to lack of coordination between TTD board and officials.
“But for that stampede incident, we have made all the arrangements for the devotees to have a comfortable darshan through Vaikuntha Dwaram for ten days from January 10-19,” he said.
Shyamala Rao said the TTD jurisdiction is limited to Tirumala to which it is completely our responsibility. In Tirupati, the administration, law and order are under the control of District collector and SP respectively.
“But even while making arrangements in ZP schools in Tirupati, TTD has discussed with the district collector and SP and took their directives for making necessary arrangements of barricading, erecting queue lines, light and other arrangements. We have coordinated with them,” he said.
The TTD authorities sought to turn the blame on the Tirupati police for the lack of proper crowd management.
“The responsibility lies with the police. And the unfortunate incident happened due to some protocol issues. An investigation is underway. The judicial inquiry will bring to the fore the exact reason for the mishap", he observed.
