FACT CHECK: Viral messages on TTD allotting contract to charge Rs 10 for walking stick to pilgrims on trekking path is FALSE
A photo with a description claiming that the TTD or the YSRCP leaders started the walking sticks business with pilgrims.
A photo with a description claiming that the TTD or the YSRCP leaders started the walking sticks business with pilgrims, and they are going to charge Rs 10 per stick, is going viral on social media.
The social media users are sharing a photo of sticks with the following description: “They are doing business with the pilgrims trekking to Tirumala. Devotees should pay Rs 10 per head irrespective of taking the stick. If someone opposes the move, they will witness a tiger. The pilgrim cannot take the stick home, just because he had paid Rs 10. After completing the trekking, they should return it to the authorities. Else, they would be forced to cough up Rs 150 per stick. The contract for providing sticks to pilgrims was given to a Reddy. Sticks will not be provided free of cost.”
Fact Check
During the last few weeks, there has been news of tigers attacking pilgrims on the Tirumala trekking route. The forest department officials are putting in all efforts to trap every tiger on the route.
Meanwhile, Tirupati MLA Bhumana Karunakar Reddy took charge as the TTD chairman on August 14, 2023. As tigers were spotted the day before and after his swearing in, the TTD Board took some important decisions regarding the issue.
The decisions taken by the TTDP include giving walking sticks to every pilgrim, to protect themselves from the wild animals on the trekking route. Though there will be security guards throughout the route, the Board believes that the sticks would be useful to the pilgrims, in case of need, opined Karunakar Reddy.
Here is the video of the press meet conducted by the new chairman of TTD on August 14
Though the TTD is yet to announce from when the sticks would be provided to the pilgrims, the Devasthanam security wing has already provided the sticks to the security guards, deployed in a gap of 250 steps each. The security guards were deployed on the trekking route on August 17.
News Report by IANS Agency: https://ianslive.in/ttd-
The security guards have been guarding the pilgrims along the route since then. On noticing closely, it was found that the walking sticks in the viral picture and the sticks given by the TTD to the security guards are quite different.
If we observe the sticks in the viral photo, there is a picture of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on it. When we conducted a reverse image search by rotating the picture, it was revealed that the original picture is of listings by merchants on the e-commerce platform Flipkart.
On the other hand, the design used for the ‘Maa Nammakam Nuvve Jagan’ was added to each of the stick in the image by editing it.
(Image Courtesy: Sakshi.Com)
So, the viral messages claiming that the TTD is charging Rs 10 for each stick from pilgrims taking the trekking route to Tirumala is FALSE.
Claim: The TTD allotted the contract for supplying walking sticks to the pilgrims on the trekking route to Tirumala to a person from the Reddy community. He will be charging Rs 10 from each of the pilgrims for the stick.