A big leap towards pollution-free Tirumala

Tirumala: On the occasion of Deepavali, Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) announced the donation of 10 electric buses to the Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) as a gesture of thanks to Lord Venkateshwara for his blessings.

MEIL's subsidiary Olectra Greentech Limited will manufacture and supply these e-buses under the Government of India's 'Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiative. These 10 eco-friendly, zero-emission e-buses will replace 'Dharma Ratham' free bus service being run by TTD for the convenience of pilgrims in Tirumala.

This fleet of e-buses by the MEIL, will help TTD make a big leap towards decarbonising the holy pilgrim centre, as they will help combat air pollution, reduce noise, tackle climate change making the world famous spiritual centre emission-free as soon as possible. In addition, as crude prices remain turbulent due to global events, these zero-emission buses are economical and their life span is longer than the fossil fuel buses. These e-buses are crucial to a sustainable future in the seven hills of Tirumala.

TTD chairman Y V Subba Reddy on Friday held a meeting with the representatives of Olectra, APSRTC and TTD officials on running electric buses in Tirumala and also on the ghat road for ferrying pilgrims.

In the meeting, Olectra chairman and managing director K V Pradeep handed-over a letter from MEIL's MD PV Krishna Reddy informing donation of the electric buses. Krishna Reddy said, "This is a small gesture from the MEIL and Olectra to the Lord."

Speaking on the occasion, the chairman said that under the directions AP CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, TTD has already taken several initiatives to transform Tirumala into a pollution free pilgrim centre, including ban on plastic, providing electric cars to TTD officials in Tirumala and in the next phase introducing electric buses between Tirumala and Tirupati by APSRTC which has already received huge response from devotees. He lauded the ccompany for the donation of Rs 15 crore worth 10 electric buses to TTD.

Another meeting will be held to decide the design and their maintenance for the convenience and comfort of devotees, he said, informing that in the next phase all private vehicles (taxis) in Tirumala will be transformed into electric vehicles with TTD sponsoring them with bank loans.

Later, TTD chairman travelled in an electric bus from Annamyya Bhavan to Lepakshi circle for a hands-on experience of the electric bus operation.

RTC executive director Gopinath Reddy, RTC officials Chengal Reddy, Viswanatha,TTD transport general manager Sesha Reddy were present.