743 Employees Of Tirupati Temple Have Tested Positive, 3 Died Since Reopening

Chennai: As many as 743 employees of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) have tested positive for COVID-19 since the reopening of one of India’s most visited and popular temples on June 11.

Three employees, including a priest and a head priest, have lost their lives while 402 have recovered and rejoined duty. Another 338 are undergoing treatment.

“Initially everyone appreciated the move of TTD. But as soon as the cases started increasing in Tirupati, the social media and some vested people blamed us saying that that we had resumed darshan only to make money. We are spending more money on all facilities to ensure COVID measures rather than what we are making from pilgrims,” TTD Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singh told The New Indian Express.

He assured that the temple administration is doing everything it can to contain the spread of novel coronavirus.

About 2.38 lakh pilgrims visited the temple in July, slightly less than usual.