Tirupati: Tiruchanur temple Mirasi Archaka dies of Corona

Tirupati: Tiruchanur Padmavathi temple Mirasi Archaka M G Ramachandran (Ramu) died of Covid on Thursday night.

According to sources, Ramachandran, who first availed treatment in a private hospital in the city after he tested positive 10 days ago, later went to Chennai for the treatment in a private hospital where he succumbed.

Ramachandran, a senior priest, was one of the TTD Mirasi Achakas who tirelessly fought for the restoration of Mirasi (hereditary) Archaka rights, including no retirement. After the TTD retired many Archakas who attained 65 years of age in 2019, he along with others fought against TTD in the court and also outside and succeeded recently with TTD reinstating all the retired Mirasi Archakas at the behest of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Another TTD senior official Nagaraja, working as deputy executive officer in Annadanam wing in Tirumala, died of coronavirus. He too after availing treatment in a local private hospital got admitted to a private hospital in Chennai after his condition turned serious, 10 days back and died on Thursday.

Meanwhile, TTD chairman Y V Subba Reddy assuring that TTD will extend all supportto bereaved families, said that so far 15 TTD employees died of corona while more than 150 found positive in the second wave of the pandemic which assumed alarming proportion in the pilgrim city where the total number of cases since March 1 crossed 10,000 resulting in all the government and private health facilities getting choked.