Superintendent of Police (Tirupati Urban) A. Ramesh Reddy on Tuesday appealed to foreign returnees to get themselves checked at the nearby government hospitals instead of unknowingly becoming a carrier of the virus.
At a review meeting held to discuss the course of action in view of the coronavirus outbreak, Mr. Reddy informed the officials of SVIMS, Ruia, TTD, railway and RTC officials that the Additional SP (crime) Venkateswar Naik, in his capacity as the newly-appointed nodal officer for COVID-19 coordination committee, would oversee the government’s efforts on containing the disease. Meanwhile, Congress leader P. Naveen Kumar Reddy urged the officials of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams(TTD) to observe the major rituals in private (Ekantham) and discourage devotees from visiting Tirumala for the next few weeks when the cases are expected to rise.
As the rituals like Suprabhatham, Thomala, Archana, Kalyanotsavam, Dolotsavam etc., have to be observed periodically and cannot be wished away, the TTD can observe them without allowing devotees to congregate in the temple during the said period, he opined.
