The grand temple of Lord Sri Venkateswara Swamy, built in the picturesque Shivalik forests in the Majeen area of Sidhra on the outskirts of Jammu city, opened its doors for devotees on Thursday, June 8.
#WATCH | Jammu: Visuals of Tirupati Balaji temple, which will be inaugurated virtually by Union Home Minister Amit Shah today
— ANI (@ANI) June 8, 2023
The temple has been built on 62 acres of land with approx cost of Rs 25 crores and construction work was completed in a span of two years pic.twitter.com/OJFYWdprmJ
Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, along with Union Minister of State in the PMO Dr Jitendra Singh, dedicated the temple to the devotees amidst the chanting of religious mantras and the beating of dhol and nagaras in the morning.
Attended Maha Samprokshanam of Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple of @TTDevasthanams, Jammu along with Hon'ble Union Ministers Shri G Kishan Reddy Ji, Dr. Jitendra Singh Ji, Chairman, TTD, YV Subba Reddy Ji. It is a historic moment in the Sanatan Journey of J&K and the country. pic.twitter.com/AlqbbFg3nD
— Office of LG J&K (@OfficeOfLGJandK) June 8, 2023
Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the temple of Lord Sri Venkateswara Swamy through video conferencing. Shah addressed the devotees and congratulated them on the grand opening of the temple. He added that he will visit the shrine whenever he goes on a state visit next.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri @AmitShah Ji will inaugurate 'Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple' in Jammu, via video conference, tomorrow at 10 AM. pic.twitter.com/UMa2qqzdTJ
— Office of Amit Shah (@AmitShahOffice) June 7, 2023
Union Minister G Krishna Reddy and other leaders and officials were also present on the occasion of the inauguration.
Speaking on the auspicious occasion, L-G Sinha said, “The dedication of Lord Venkateswara temple will strengthen the religious tourism circuit in J&K, give a boost to spiritual tourism and a major fillip to the economic development and employment opportunities in the Union Territory.”
“Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Shri Kailakh Jyotish & Vedic Sansthan and many other organizations are making immense contributions to promote Vedic culture & traditions. I am confident Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams will develop a Ved Pathshala & Health Centre on priority,” he added.
The temple, built on 62 acres of land on a similar pattern to the famous Tirupati Balaji temple in the hill town Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh, is the sixth built by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) outside the southern state — the others being Hyderabad, Chennai, Bhubaneswar, Kanyakumari, and Delhi.
It is also one of Jammu’s largest temples and is expected to boost religious and pilgrimage tourism in the union territory.
On Wednesday (June 7, 2023), Lord Venkateswara’s eight and six-foot idols were installed in the temple after the pran pratishtha pooja was done on May 6, 2023, by 45 priests and saints from Andhra Pradesh. The main sanctum of the temple houses an 8-foot-tall idol of Lord Venkateswara. Additionally, a 6-foot-tall statue has been erected outside the sanctum sanctorum. According to reports, these idols have been made from granite stone and brought from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh.
Besides several pilgrimage facilities like amenities complex and kalyana mandapam (wedding stage), the project includes educational and developmental infrastructure like Veda pathshala (Vedic teaching classrooms), hostel building and staff quarters.
From the entrance to the sanctum sanctorum to a gold-plated tower, the temple is the replica of the original Tirupati Balaji temple in Tirumala, built following the Dravidian style of architecture. However, some works within the temple premises are still in progress.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthan Board built this temple. In June 2021, the temple’s foundation stone was laid. Following that, more than 50 artisans from Andhra Pradesh began constructing the grand temple. The temple of Lord Balaji, as well as lodging and parking for the board’s priests and officials, were built in the first phase.
In the second phase, a Ved Pathshala, spiritual centre, and other facilities will be erected.
The construction had begun in 2021 after the government of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir approved the proposal to allot the required area of land to build a replica of the famous Tirupati temple near Jammu.
In April 2021, the Administrative Council (AC), which is headed by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, met and approved the proposal to allocate 496 kanals of land on lease for 40 years to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) for building a temple and allied infrastructure.
In February 2021, the administration of Jammu and Kashmir agreed to allocate land to TTD near the Jammu-Katra highway for constructing a temple of Sri Venkateswara Swamy. TTD will be constructing a temple along with a Vedic school and hospital in a minimum span of two years.
Besides Jammu and Kashmir, TTD has also planned to build the grand temples of Lord Venkateswara, on the lines of the famous Tirupathi temple, in the sacred city of Varanasi and Mumbai.
Construction of temples in Chennai, Vishakhapatnam, and Bhuvaneshwar is underway. The TTD has constructed Sri Venkateswara Swamy temples in Hyderabad, Kurukshetra, and Kanyakumari which are functional and attract impressive pilgrim populations.
