Kurukshetra’s Tirupati temple opens on July 2

Vishal Joshi

The inauguration of Tirupati Balaji (Lord Vishnu) temple on July 2 is set to give religious tourism in the holy city of Kurukshetra a major boost.

Located in the vicinity of Brahma Sarovar, the city’s landmark, the Balaji temple is spread over 5.52 acres. Scores of artisans and workers collectively worked for nearly four years to make a replica of the famous shrine, also called Temple of Seven Hills.

In January 2012, the Kurukshetra Development Board (KDB) had allotted land to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), that manages the country’s richest temple of Tirupati in AP.

Praveen Prakash, Resident Commissioner at Andhra Pradesh Bhavan in New Delhi, who visited the temple site early this week, said the four-day ceremony of idol installation would commence from June 28.

Sixty priests will arrive here from the main temple in Tirupati to perform rituals, said Prakash, a senior IAS officer who has been mandated by the AP Government to coordinate the inauguration and further functioning of the temple. “The temple in Kurukshetra will be a replica of the hill temple of Tirupati. There will be three temples, one each of ‘Bhudevi’ and ‘Sridevi’ and Lord Vishnu’s idol would be in the sanctum sanctorum. Construction is at the final stage,” added Prakash.

The TTD is run under the supervision of the AP Government with a panel of members from diverse fields. Donations are used by the Trust for running several healthcare, environment conservation and education projects.

Prakash said a sizeable number of devotees to Tirupati were from North India and the presence of the shrine’s replica would further attract visitors to Kurukshetra.

He said the TTD planned to construct Tirupati temples in every city with more than 10 lakh population.

The joint executive officer of the TTD, Pola Bhaskar, another senior bureaucrat from AP, said the Kurukshetra district administration and the the KDB authorities would be engaged to manage affairs of the local temple. However, the remittances collected would be the sole property of the TTD, he added.

According to TVSN Prasad, Principal Secretary, Finance and Planning, Haryana, 1,500 tonnes of sea rocks were transported from Tamil Nadu to give it a look similar to the original temple.

He said a local management committee would be formed for smooth and transparent working of the temple. According to Prasad, the upcoming temple will give a unique identity to the city.

Prasad said of the Rs 34-crore budget, an amount of Rs 12 crore had been donated by N Sethia Foundation.

“London-based entrepreneur-philanthropist Nirmal Sethia had volunteered for the remittance. The TTD has a history of being managed by the government and previously by the British government without any issue,” he added.