In a gift to people in southern Tamil Nadu who found it difficult to go to Tirupati all the way to offer prayers at the renowned Lord Venkateswara temple on Tirumala, a sprawling replica of the shrine was opened at Kanniyakumari on Sunday. It was constructed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, which governs the Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirumala. The temple complex, constructed at a cost of Rs 22.5 crore, also has another temple in it for Goddess Sri Padmavathi.
Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal said, "We regularly hold activities and maintain a good rapport with the devotees through our Kalyana Mandapam-cum-information centres in Rajapalayam, Neyveli and Hosur." Singhal said the construction of temple in the famous pilgrim centre of Kanyakumari was conceived five years ago.
He said the TTD is preparing to build a temple dedicated to Goddess Sri Padmavathi Ammavaru at G N Chetty Road in the heart of Chennai city at an amount of Rs 5.75 crore. Devotees thronged the Kanyakumari shrine in large numbers to have a darshan on the first day of the opening of the shrine of Lord Venkateswara. Maha Kumbhabhishekam involving a series of ceremonies was performed in the auspicious Kumbha Lagnam between 7.30 am and 9 am.
