Swami Govinda Ramanuja Dasa of the Akhil Bharatha Krishna Seva Sangam went on a "fast unto death" at Jantar Mantar here today demanding that the 1,000-pillar mandapam at Tirupati be rebuilt at the same place where the ancient one was demolished recently. He has written to the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, seeking his blessings to carry out the "dharma pracharam'' throughout the country with the help of volunteers.
In the letter, he wrote: "The 1,000-pillar mandapam, which was recently demolished at Tirupati, had been preserved as a sacred place for crores of Vaishnavites. The demolition of this mandapam by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) authorities has caused irreparable damage to the Vaishnava sect and other devotees. Now that there is a move to reconstruct the mandapam by the TTD, as per the agama sastra, most of us see a ray of hope."
To create an awareness among people about the High Court move to prevent any further damage to the structure, 1,008 swamis and devotees will visit various parts of the country. The voluntary mission would go on for 100 days. Swami Govinda Ramanuja Dasa also wants the Centre to take steps to protect the cow.