TNN | Mar 15, 2015,
TIRUMALA/HYDERABAD: Long queues at Tirumala are not an unusual sight, but on Saturday, a 3km long line had formed and it was not for darshan. The devotees had actually lined up for tonsuring their heads and the long delay in getting the ritual done was because of a shortage of barbers.
On an average, about 30,000 devotees, mostly men, get their head tonsured every day, and the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) generates about Rs 250 crore annually by selling hair. Apart from the main Kalyana Katta near the 'annadanam' canteen, there are 10 mini centres in Tirumala where the devotees can get their head tonsured.
There are about 250 permanent barbers and 400 on contract, including 70 women barbers. While the permanent barbers are paid salaries, those on contract are paid Rs 2 per tonsured head. While the tonsuring is free of cost, most devotees on their own pay tips to the barbers. The barbers used to the tips now virtually demand it.
The attendance of barbers on Saturday dropped by about 30 per cent, leading to the unusual shortage and long queue of men extending to about 3km at the main Kalyana Katta. While the authorities claimed that shortage of barbers was normal, many barbers skipped work on Saturday in protest against the TTD authorities shunting out vigilance officer Koteshwar Rao from the Kaylana Katta duties on Friday. "There were allegations of corruption involving the vigilance official and the barbers. Many barbers stayed away from work on Saturday as they apprehended action against them as well by the authorities," sources said.
On their part, the barbers denied committing any irregularities while going about their job. "We do not demand money from the devotees, but if they give of their own accord, we take," said Tangavelu, TTD Barbers Association president said.
According to those familiar with the state of affairs, each devotee pays upwards of Rs 10 to the barber after getting his head tonsured. As a result, the barbers make decent amount of money on a monthly basis just from tips in the range of Rs 1 to Rs 1.5 lakh.
When asked about the developments, TTD EO D Sambasiva Rao said: "We are trying to streamline many things step by step, this (removing the vigilance official) was one such measure." The EO was in Hyderabad to meet chief minister Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday.
Meanwhile, devotees complained that there were many deficiencies in the temple administration that needed to be addressed to and that the issue of barbers was not primary among them. "I was forced to stand in the line for 6 hours to get my head tonsured. If we give money on our own to the barbers, the authorities should not complain," said Srinivasa Rao, a devotee from Kadapa.
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