Tirupati told to pay devotee Rs 50 lakh for 14-year wait

TIRUPATI: A consumer court in Salem has directed the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) to either facilitate "Vastralankara seva" or pay Rs 50 lakh to a devotee in a year for making him wait for the special puja for 14 years. The temple closed in March 2020 for 80 days following the outbreak of Covid and the conduct of all Arjitha sevas were stopped, including the Vastralankara.
The TTD then sent a communique to devotee KR Hari Bhaskar asking him either to book any desired slot during the daily VIP break darshan, or seek a refund. But Bhaskar asked the temple body to reschedule his Vastralankara seva date to any other date convenient to them even a year later. The TTD administration made it clear it would not be possible to reschedule the seva, and again asked him to seek a refund. Bhaskar moved district consumer disputes redressal commission and lodged a complaint against the TTD.
The consumer commission directed TTD to allot Vastralankara seva to the devotee within a year or pay Rs 50 lakh as compensation for deficiency in service and for causing mental agony to devotee and his family. It asked the temple body to refund the booking amount of Rs 12,250 to Bhaskar along with interest at 24% interest per annum from 2006 till date.
This is the first time a devotee has approached a consumer court against the TTD for deficiency in service since its inception almost nine decades ago.