With the opening of shrines under the purview Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) including the Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirumala for darshan, the security sleuths are facing a double challenge: implementing the COVID-19 guidelines amid the gradual rise in the devotee count and making them less vulnerable to infection.
The police personnel on duty have been provided with single-use Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). Despite the strict adherence to social distancing norms, the security personnel can not help coming in contact with the devotees.
Strict instruction have been given against frisking of devotees and the checking is being done through doorframe metal detectors (DFMD) and hand-held metal detectors (HHMD). The baggage is being sprayed with disinfectants before getting them pass through X-ray scanners. However, they have been advised to use ropes to control huge crowd for which they can not avoid getting closer to the devotees.
The main areas of gathering of devotees are Alipiri toll plaza, foot path routes at Alipiri and Srivarimettu, darshan queuelines, Kalyanakatta (tonsuring centre) and Matrusri Tarigonda Vengamamba Annaprasadam centre (food court), besides the scores of temples downhill.
COVID training
“We have issued clear guidelines pertaining to checking of devotees without frisking. Apart from the 450 trained Special Protection Force (SPF) personnel, we have trained nearly 1000 security staff before their deployment as and when the situation warrants,” says TTD’s Chief Vigilance and Security Officer (CV&SO) Gopinath Jatti. The security wing has procured 2000 face shields and 5,000 single-use PPE kits in the form of donation, while the masks and gloves have been procured by the TTD in bulk.
Additional security
“The idea is to not expose either the devotees or the security personnel to risk. Dogs specially trained in narcotics will be deployed at crucial spots. This provides an additional layer of security beyond the metal detectors. We are deploying bomb disposal teams to minimise the man-to-man interface,” says Mr. Jatti.
