Jammu, June 13: The Bhoomi Pujan ceremony for the construction of Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) was held on Sunday at Majeen.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha took part in the Bhoomi Pujan and unveiled the plaque to mark the laying of foundation stone in presence of Union MoS PMO Jitendra Singh, Union MoS Home G Kishan Reddy, Chairman TTD Board Y V Subba Reddy, Ram Madhav, Member National Executive RSS.
Speaking on the occasion, the LG said that the magnificent temple when completed would be a centre of faith as well as destination of spirituality.
He said that the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Board would establish a Gurukul and Veda Pathshala to promote the Sanskrit language and ancient culture of Vedic teachings and learning.
The board has also agreed to set up centres of excellence in the field of healthcare on the lines of its excellence centres in Andhra Pradesh.
Terming the occasion as a historic and proud day for J&K, the LG expressed gratitude towards Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Board and the Centre for fulfilling the long-pending wish of the people of north India for establishing the temple of lord Balaji on the land of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi.
“Lord Balaji’s divine blessing is a state of inner celebration. Ved Pathshala in the second phase will strengthen the foundation of Indian culture. The construction of the temple will also open up opportunities across sectors and it will certainly change the economy of the region,” the LG said.
“The temple would become a major religious and pilgrimage destination attracting lot more tourists, which would ultimately give boost to the religious and pilgrimage tourism, besides providing ample livelihood opportunities, and socio-economic upliftment of the people of the region,” the LG said.
He said that except for the main pujaris of the temple and the core supervision team, it would also have a large number of local people for the management, providing direct and indirect opportunities to the people of the region.
Spreading over 62 acres of land at village Majeen in Jammu, the temple is expected to be completed in 18 months in two phases at a cost of Rs 33.22 crore.
The project would include a host of pilgrimage facilities and other educational and developmental infrastructure like Veda Pathshala – classrooms, hostel building and staff quarters; pilgrims’ amenities complex, Kalyanamandapam and Vahanamandapam.
The government of J&K has granted the land to the TTD Board in village Majeen on a lease basis for a period of 40 years.
Member of Parliament Jugal Kishore Sharma; Mayor JMC Chander Mohan Gupta; Chairman, DDC Jammu Bharat Bhushan; members of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams board; members of various political and social organisations were also present during the ceremony.
OSD in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry BVR Subrahmanayam; Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta; Principal Secretary to the Lt Governor Nitishwar Kumar besides Administrative Secretaries, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, and Deputy Commissioner Jammu attended the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony.