Hindu groups stage protest against construction of Mumtaz Hotel near Tirupati temple

Members of the Hindu Chaitanya Samithi and other Hindu organisations staged a protest on Tuesday demanding an immediate halt to the construction of the Mumtaz Hotel near the Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park in Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati.
They held a demonstration in front of the Town Development Authority office at Tatanagar in Tirupati, holding placards and blowing conch shells as part of the protest.
One of the protestors, Swami Srinivasananda, said that they welcomed the decision of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Board to reclaim the land near Alipiri, where the hotel construction is taking place.
He alleged that despite the decision, construction work was still going on at the site and demanded its immediate cessation.
Notably, the TTD board had passed a resolution on November 19, asking the state government to cancel allotment of 20 acres of land near Alipiri to build the hotel, and claimed that it would hurt the sentiments of devotees.
In 2021, the then YSRCP-led Andhra Pradesh government proposed the development of a large-scale luxury tourism project through incentives under the state government’s 2020-2025 Tourism Policy to boost tourism and employment in Tirupati.
According to the Government Order (GO), the project, Mumtaz Hotel, would have included 100 luxury villas spread over 20 acres, with an initial investment of Rs 250 crore.