The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Trust (TTDT) would take up the renovation work of 57,000 odd temples in the southern part of the country. The trust has created a separate infrastructure fund for this purpose.
In the International Temple Connect Expo (ITCEx) organized at Varanasi, the office-bearers of Tirupati Trust pledged to begin renovation of temples in south India at large scale.
International Temple Connect Expo
According to them, very soon a drive would be started in which temples belonging to different castes of south India are to be renovated. The two day long expo, concluded on Sunday, was addressed by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat as chief guest. Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually addressed this convention which was attended by thousands of people running and managing temples in the country and abroad. The office-bearers of Gurdwara and Jain temple trusts also participated in this convention at Varanasi. A total of 450 managers of places of worship attended the expo.
Nationwide integration of Hindu temples
In his address the Sangh chief stressed on the need for integration of all temples and said that time has come that there should be proper listing of Hindu religious places in the country. He said that there should be a survey of temples in the country. He said that temples in villages and streets must figure in the list and focus should be on small ones instead of big places of worship. Bhagwat said that small temples need help for upkeep and it should be looked into. He said that in the digital age the youth should be brought to the temples. The integration of temples would strengthen the society also, he said.
Total number of temples in India
The convener of ITCEx, Girish Kulkarni said there are around 22-23 lakh temples in India and the aim is to connect it. He said that at present the size of the temple economy in the world is around 40 billion dollars. Every temple should have its own trust and fund on the tunes of TTDT. The big temples should come forward to develop smaller ones. He said that till date 9,782 temples of 97 countries have been digitally connected and there is a need for broader integration of Hindu places of worship.
