Jammu: A grand temple of ‘Tirupati Balaj’ will be constructed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) board in Jammu and Kashmir. This temple is expected to be built in 18 months in two phases at a cost of Rs 33.22 crore and will be ready in Siddhara, Jammu.
Work has begun on the construction of a magnificent temple and allied infrastructure at the behest of the Andhra Pradesh-based Tirumala Tirupati Devastanams (TTD).
In a major push to religious and pilgrimage tourism in Jammu and Kashmir, a ‘Bhoomi Pujan’ ceremony for construction of Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple was held at Majeen village on June 13.
Lt Governor of Manoj Sinha took part in the ceremony and unveiled a plaque to mark the laying of foundation stone in the presence of Union Minister of State (MoS) Jitendra Singh, Union MoS Home G. Kishan Reddy, Chairman TTD Board Y V Subba Reddy, Member of the National Executive, RSS, V Ram Madhav and other dignitaries.
The magnificent divine temple when completed will be a centre of faith as well as destination of spirituality, the Lt Governor said addressing the gathering. Spread over 62 acres, the temple is expected to be completed in 18 months in two phases, costing Rs 33.22 crore, he said.
He said the TTD board will establish a gurukul/veda pathshala to promote the Sanskrit language and ancient culture of vedic teachings and learning.
The board has also agreed to set up centres of excellence in the field of healthcare on the lines of its excellence centres in Andhra Pradesh.
Sinha expressed gratitude towards the TTD board and Union government for fulfilling the long pending wish of people of Jammu and Kashmir and north India for establishing the temple of Lord Balaji on the land of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi.
He said the temple would become a major religious and pilgrimage destination attracting a lot more tourists, which will ultimately give boost to the religious and pilgrimage tourism, besides providing ample livelihood opportunities, and socio-economic upliftment of the people of the region.
Except for the main pujaris of the temple and the core supervision team, it will also have a large number of local people for the management, thus providing direct and indirect opportunities to the people of the region, he said.
The Lt Governor said the prestigious project would include a host of pilgrimage facilities and other educational and developmental infrastructure.
Ashish Kohli (DograJournalist) shared a video of the location where the temple is being built.
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams trust board, whose tenure is set to end on June 22, hold its final meeting in Tirumala on Saturday.
Speaking to the media after the TTD board meeting, TTD chairman YV Subba Reddy revealed that up to 500 Srivari temples will be built in Telugu states. He added that similar temples will be built in Mumbai and Varanasi.