Be polite, TTD addl. EO tells Tirumala traders

TTD Additional Executive Officer A.V. Dharma Reddy on Wednesday exhorted the merchant community to be courteous towards devotees visiting the hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara.

Addressing bankers and businesspersons at Asthana Mandapam here, Mr. Dharma Reddy underlined the need for reducing the use of plastic. The TTD was toying with the idea of introducing jute and cloth bags as an alternative for laddu covers and substituting plastic water bottles with ones made of copper, steel and eco-friendly materials.

The TTD on an average receives ₹5 crore in the form of coins a month as proceeds from the temple hundi which is deposited in various banks. To enhance the circulation of the coins and thereby reduce the growing burden on the banks, he urged the traders to encourage them as a medium of exchange.

Should the traders express their willingness, the bankers would be asked to provide coins of various denominations in sealed packets to be sold to pilgrims. The TTD on its part would promote the use of coins at all its sales counters and places of monetary transactions.

Hoteliers should segregate waste materials into biodegradable, non-biodegradable and bio-medical and employ separate bins for their easy collection and contribute their bit to the upkeep of hygiene in the temple town, he added.