Officials of Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam (TTD), which manages the holy Tirupathi Tirumala Hills where the abode of Lord Venkateswara is situated, are erecting more number of CCTV (Close-circuit televisions) cameras so as to check increasing incidents of abduction of children.

Each day, lakhs of devotees from across the country and other parts of the world throng the holy Tirupathi Temple for ‘darshan’ of Lord Venkateswara which is also visited frequently by celebrities and VIPs. In order to ensure safety and security of children and devotees, TTD has decided to erect more number of CCTV cameras than the ones which exist at present.

Rs.4.5 crores would be spent on erecting 400 state-of-the-art CCTV cameras for which work has been going on, a top TTD official said. The measure comes in the wake of increasing reports in recent times of stealing of devotees’ valuable things and abduction of children at the Hills surrounding the temple. All CCTV cameras would be monitored in a single hall, making it easy to trace and locate things.

In the first phase, work is on to erect more CCTV cameras at the four main streets surrounding the holy temple. Work on erecting all the 400-odd new CCTC cameras around the Hills would be completed within the next months, the official said.