Former Chief priest of Tirumala temple passes away due to COVID19

The Former Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) chief priest P. Srinivasa Murthy Dikshitulu, 75, passed away at the SVIMS hospital early on Monday due to coronavirus.

He developed severe respiratory congestion on Saturday night and was rushed to the hospital where he was reportedly diagnosed positive for COVID-19 on admission.

He belonged to Archakam Peddinti family which had ‘mirasi’ at both the temples of Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala and Sri Govindaraja Swamy temple in Tirupati and retired in 2018.

According to chief priest G. Venugopala Dikshitulu he had rendered ‘kainkaryams’ (service) at both the temples for over 55 years and is survived by four daughters and two sons, both of whom are working in TTD temples as ‘sambhavana archakas’.