One of the country’s biggest Sri Vaishnavite hill temples of lord Sri Venkateswara Swamy which is the most and also an important one that everyone has a common knowledge is being administrated by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam(TTD) management. This is the premier hub for activities of both devotional and spiritual were promoted by the holy people who includes Alwars and Ramanuja Chary and Annamacharya madn also Purandhara das and Vengamamba also many others.
But from a few years the management of TTD and the powerful administration has planned to transform the Devotional Tirumala to a Digital Tirumala with the help of the IT solutions so that they can provide all the facilities like the darshanam and laddu prasadam and also accommodation and the arjitha seva and many others to all the pilgrims from different cultures with a more transparent and quick services which are available in a click.
TCS came forward to contribute in TTD’s smart Governance:
In the months of February and earlier in this year 2016 TTD has made some bonds with the largest IT TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) to help in building Digital Tirumala, which will provide a platform for enhancing and also providing convenient services to the pilgrims that are visiting from different cultures. The TCS has appointed dedicated staff with its extending technology as a part of its own Responsibility of the Corporate Socially to design the applications and a proper network for all the devotees that are visiting and also to infuse smart governance in TTD.
The separate wings of administration of the temple and the management of the pilgrims are all proved to be a fruitful result by the IT solutions in this biggest task which is the deal signed between the CEO of TCS Natarajan ChandraSekaran and the EO of Tirumala Dr. D. Sambasiva Rao.
Over 60% of the Services of TTD are made online:
As there is a huge foot falls of the pilgrims every year and throughout the year the TTD keeping a view on this has filled the IT solutions to provide a endless connectivity to all the areas in darshan and accommodation and in the distribution of the laddu prasadam and even in the management cell for the donors and the performance of any marriages and other voluntary services of srivari seva and others.
The introduction of different software made the services to be delivered in online about a rate of almost 60 to 70 percent. Only a few portions of the deliverables are kept in hand only to facilitate if any case of emergencies and protocol facilitations are needed said the strongly determined person about digitizing this, TTD EO Dr D. Sambasiva Rao.
The chief of the TTD administration said that “the only way to provide a precise service to all the ever increasing pilgrims to the Tirumala and the service delivery improvements for all the pilgrims and also in expanding our dharmic and social and also the charitable activities with a convenient and a transparent way is though the IT solution”.
Services by IT:
Starting from the seeghra darsanam of Rs.300 to the tickets of arjit seva and the accommodation and e-Hundi, Dmat and donor e books services and many other services are all decided and are allotted through the online services which make the TTD temple as the first management in the country to make it as a Digital Pilgrim Centre. Other than this the digital services are being provided to the allotment of different services like programs for the Bhajanamandali and also services like srivariseva volunteer areas. To avoid the ticket selling for tonsuring for the pilgrims so that they can avoid them standing in lines TTD is contemplating.
Next generation by the mobile App:
TTD is also looking forward to introduce the booking of darshan tickets through a mobile application and also to facilitate other important services to all the pilgrims with this mobile app. The pilgrims can buy their seeghra darshan Rs.300 tickets and arjitseva tickets and laddus and also for making any e donation even the pilgrims are travelling.
Some of the highlights in this IT sector are:
1) More than 6.27 lakh pilgrims are coming from more than 100 countries are booking online tickets of Rs.300 and they are having a comfortable darshan.
2) The numbers of pilgrims using these online services are about 32% people from Tamil Nadu and 25% from AP and about 15% from Karnataka.
3) Till now more than two lakh arjit seva tickets were released in the online with the use of this newly designed application