The Andhra Pradesh government has scrapped the land allotment for the controversial Mumtaz Hotel project near Tirupati. The Tourism Department made the announcement after strong protests from religious groups worried about protecting the sanctity of the sacred Tirumala hills.
The previous YSRCP government had given 20 acres to the Oberoi Group to build a luxury hotel and resort. But the plan faced immediate opposition from Hindu organizations and seers, who argued that such commercial projects should not be set up so close to a holy site. They feared the resort might serve non-vegetarian food and offer activities that would harm the spiritual atmosphere. Protests grew louder, with priests and sadhus even holding hunger strikes to demand the project’s cancellation.
Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s government responded by canceling the allotment, saying the decision was taken to protect the sacred lands of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD). As a replacement, the government has offered the Oberoi Group a 38-acre site in Peruru village, in the Tirupati rural area.
The move is being seen as a big win for religious groups and devotees who wanted to safeguard the spiritual purity of Tirupati.
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