Tirumala, July 7, 2013: Mukkamala Giridhara Gopal, who took charge as the executive officer of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) here in the early hours of Saturday, has said he will study the existing system thoroughly before contemplating any changes.

Speaking to mediapersons after taking the oath, he, however, felt that it was not proper for the TTD to appeal to pilgrims not to arrive at Tirumala on any particular festival day or auspicious occasion fearing rush and stampede. Instead, it would be better to encourage them to visit various other temples and pilgrim spots on the hills by improving the facilities there.

Apart from giving priority to provide hassle-free darshan to ordinary pilgrims and seeing that all the rituals take place inside the temple without deviating from the Agama sastras, he said creation of more amenities, protection to pilgrims, preservation and promotion of Hindu Dharma and saving the serene environs of Tirumala hills would be his priorities and exuded confidence that he could achieve them with the co-operation of trust board members, employees and pilgrims.

Outgoing executive officer LV Subrahmanyam, joint executive officer (Tirumala) KS Srinivasa Raju, chief vigilance & security officer GVG Ashok Kumar and others were present at the press conference.

Earlier, Gopal took charge form joint executive officer KS Sreenivasa Raju.  Deputy executive officer (general) P Munirathnam Reddy administered the oath of office to Gopal at Bangaru Vakili at 4.14 am.

Later, priests blessed him with  hymns and presented visesha vastram and prasadam to him.

Source: The New Indian Express, DT. July 7, 2013.