Tirupati Balaji Temple Goes Green – Environment Friendly Measures Adapted by Tirumala Tirupati Venkateswara Temple

Tirupati Balaji Temple, the most visited place of worship in a year and is also the richest temple in the world, is now setting example for other Hindu Temples by going green. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanms (TTD) has adapted numerous environment friendly measures. Here are some of the ecofriendly and green concept promoted by Tirupati Venkateswara Temple.

Solar Cooking System

Clean energy to feed over 70, 000 people daily. Solar Cooking system saves 120, 000 liters of diesel.

106 solar dishes that use solar energy to convert water into steam, has become the pioneer effort in energy saving and also reducing oil pollution in the hill shrine.

The steam is also used for the bathing purpose of thousands of devotees daily.

It must be noted that during weekend, auspicious days and festivals the shrine attracts more than 100,000 people daily.

Solar powered lights

Windmills – produces 140 lakh units annually accounting for its 40-45 per cent of the energy needs. The total requirement in a year is 350 lakh units.

Other initiatives planned

Complete ban of use of plastics in the Tirupati hills.

Social forestry with massive planting of trees.

TTD News reports

India’s richest temple – Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanms (TTD), at Tirumala is setting an enviable example in promoting green concept in delivery of free services to the common devotees.

Today it is relying entirely on clean energy to feed over 70,000 people everyday. The temple has installed solar powered lights, solar cooking system, windmills and a water recycling station in its bouquet of energy conservation systems to facilitate the devotees.

“We are making all attempts to  convert  Tirumala  into  a green haven  with rich greenery , gardens, reduce noise and  carbon pollution and also  extensively  utilize the  forest  wealth and abundant sun  and wind capacities  on the hillock “ says  Sri. I Y R Krishna Rao, Excutive officer of the TTD.

The temple has installed solar powered lights, solar cooking system, windmills and a water recycling station.  An investment of just  Rs 1  crore made eight years ago to set up the system of 106 solar dishes that use solar energy to convert water into steam, has become the pioneer effort in energy saving and also reducing oil pollution in the hill shrine.

It saves Tirupati 1.2 lakh litres of diesel every year used earlier to run motors for producing power to run electric heaters and the steam used to undertake huge cooking operations in the making of laddu prasadam and the Anna Prasadam schemes.

The steam thus generated is used to heat water for bathing purposes of thousands of devotees and also converted into steam for cooking in the numerous kitchens of TTD incuding the Srivari Potu where all prasadams are prepared for the Lord Venkateswara’s Naivedyam.

“The basic principle is conversion of water into steam energy through the solar energy. The water flows through the pipes and the solar dishes concentrate the solar energy to the concentrators. In the concentrators the water is converted into steam and that steam is utilised for cooking,” says Deputy Executive Engineer (Mechanical) KV Raman Rao.

It is not just the sun alone as Tirumala uses wind and water effectively too. The windmills set up on the hill terrain ensure that the temple shrine is able to meet some part of the power requirement by itself.

“From the wind energy, I’m getting around 140 lakh units. As against TTD’s annual requirements of 350 lakh units accounting for its 40-45 per cent of the energy needs met from its non-conventional sources,” points out Divisional Engineer (Electrical) M Ravishankar Reddy.

Nearly 50,000 kilos of rice along with sambhar and rasam are cooked in the kitchens of Tirumala every day of the year without using conventional gas. Since we started using this system, our work is easier and quicker. It’s much better than gas which took much longer. We’ve been using this for more than 8-9 years and we are really comfortable with it,” says Tirumala chef Goravaiyya Rao.

Green concept has made major inroads into the hill shrine .The TTD health officer Dr Vijayalakshmi says that the plans were afoot to completely ban use of plastics on the hill shrine of Tirumala. “We are scouting for alternatives for plastics as it a major utility for pilgrims who walk the foot path and also visit Tirumala during peak summers “, she said.

TTD  is also promoting massive  green cover  with avenue plantation all along the  three  kms radius of the temple establishments “We are promoting social forestry at all the guest houses  and also set up  flower tableau’s at centers thronged by the pilgrims “ said Srinivasulu , director of gardens of TTD .

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