3 TTD board members deny charges

TIRUPATI: Three TTD trust board members - Muthyam Reddy, Suryaprakasa Rao and Rajeswari Devi - have stoutly denied the reports in a section of the media that they reserved a large number of rooms (400) for their men on Tirumala, causing hardships to the common pilgrims on the eve of Vaikuntha Ekadasi.Speaking with reporters here on Monday, the three members, who are also MLAs, criticised chairman K Bapiraju and executive officer LV Subrahmanyam for not immediately condemning such 'baseless' reports which tarnished their image. Blaming the administration for the chaos because of which many legislators were also made to suffer and for which the chairman had already apologised, they said they would raise the issue at the next board meet to evolve a foolproof measure to avoid such lapses in future.The trio clarified they had no differences with the chairman or the executive officer and were only keen to set right the lapses in the administration.Muthyam Reddy, a member of the purchasing committee, refuted reports that PDS rice was mixed with the rice supplied to the TTD. He appealed to the media to verify facts before publishing such "wild allegations''. The contractor might have used the PDS gunny bags to supply millers' rice but a section of the media alleged that PDS rice was supplied to TTD, he said.Reddy said the works committee came to know that officials failed to take action against the contractor who failed to complete the construction of Nandkam Pilgrim Complex, taken up at a cost of Rs 30 crore on Tirumala, as per schedule by 2009, causing a loss to the TTD. "This will also be discussed at the trust board meeting on January 18 for appropriate action against the guilty and for recovery of the loss from those found responsible,'' he said.