SEVA MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR CRM IMPLEMENTATION IN TTD

172 ABSTRACT SEVA MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR CRM IMPLEMENTATION IN TTD PROF.K V S N JAWAHAR BABU* *Principal, KMM Colleges, Ramireddipalle, Tirupati. AP, India. The temple of Sri Venkateswara has acquired unique sanctity in Indian religious lore. The Sastras, Puranas, Sthala Mahatyams and Alwar hymns unequivocally declare that, in the Kali Yuga, one can attain mukti (salvation) only by worshipping Venkata Nayaka or Sri Venkateswara. In this paper an attempt for CRM implementation in TTD through Seva Mangemement Information System. TTD provides a wide range of facilities to make pilgrimage a unique spiritual experience. The target groups for Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams to provide facilities are devotees and donors. Unless their views and perceptions are obtained and analysed it is not possible to draw inferences about the facilities provided to them. In this direction, on the basis of the data obtained through the survey the satisfaction levels on facilities are presented. Seventy eight percent of devotees were satisfied with Darshanam facilities (Queue System, packaged food, toilets, cloak rooms, medical aid and overall management) provided inside the Vaikuntam Queue Complex (VQC), while waiting for Darshan. In spite of TTD efforts in streamlining the queue system, 26 percent of respondents had to wait for more than 4 Hours inside the Queue Complex for getting Darshanam. It is suggested to make efforts to reduce darshanam time to save the save the time of the pilgrims, which could inturn solve accommodation and facilities problems to significant extent. I. INTRODUCTION The name Tirupati, meaning the the Lord of Lakshmi should have been appropriately applied to the village on the Venkatachala Hill, the abode of the Lord. However, it has been popularly assigned to the Municipal town at the foot of the Hill, while the village around the Hill near His temple is called Tirumala (the Sacred Hill). The temple of Sri Venkateswara has acquired unique sanctity in Indian religious lore. The Sastras, Puranas, Sthala Mahatyams and Alwar hymns unequivocally declare that, in the Kali Yuga, one can attain mukti, only by worshipping Venkata Nayaka or Sri Venkateswara. The benefits acquired by a piligrimage to Venkatachala are mentioned in the Rig Veda and Asthadasa Puranas. In these epics, Sri Venkateswara is described as the great bestower of boons. There are several legends associated with the manifestation of the Lord at Tirumala. The temple has its origins in Vaishnavism, an ancient sect which advocates the principles of equality and love, and prohibits animal sacrifice. The sanctum sanctorum which houses the awe-inspiring idol of the Lord of the Seven Hills is situated in the main temple

173 complex of Tirumala. There are several legends associated with the manifestation of the Lord in Tirumala. The target group for Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams to provide facilities is devotees and donors. Unless their views and perceptions are obtained and analysed it is not possible to draw inferences about the facilities provided to them. In this direction, on the basis of the data obtained through the survey the satisfaction levels on facilities are presented. A comparison of donors with the devotees reveals that while ninety percent of the devotees are satisfied with the facilities, a relatively lower percentage among donors was satisfied. This could be because the donors expect better facilities and treatment from the TTD. Also the study brings out that there was hardly any communication with donors on the utilization of funds. This could have also resulted in some dissatisfaction. Having analysed the overall satisfaction levels, to have more insight about each facility like accommodation, darshan, prasadam, sevas, grievance redressal and other facilities are analyzed. In this paper an attempt for CRM implementation in TTD through Seva Mangemement Information System. TTD provides a wide range of facilities to make pilgrimage a unique spiritual experience. Special facilities are being provided by TTD to meet the requirements of pilgrims expected to visit Tirumala during summer, Brahmostavas, New Year and on other festival days. Darshanams The entrance for darshan is through the Vaikuntam Queue Complex. The complex is a series of inter-connected halls that leads to the main temple. An efficient queue system ensures that pilgrims move in an orderly fashion through the Queue Complex, towards the main temple. The halls in the Queue Complex are clean, spacious and airy. TTD provides a wide range of facilities in the Queue Complex like food, soft drinks, milk, toilets, Medical facilities, sale of TTD publications. In addition facilities for depositing footwear and Cloak rooms are also provided at free of cost. There are officers to look after the facilities in the Vaikuntam Queue Complex to regulate the queues and attend to complaints. Sarvadarsanam means 'darshan for all'. The timings for Sarvadarsanam are different on different days of the week. On normal days, about 18 hours are allotted for Sarvadarsanam and on peak days, it is open for 20 hours. Around 50,000 pilgrims visit the main temple every day. Special Darshan The entrance for Special Darshan is through the PPC (Queue Complex). The queue merges with the Sarvadarsanam queue at Bangaruvakili. Pilgrims who use this queue will have a shorter waiting time. Special darshan, is charged at Rs.50/- per head. The darshan timings are the same as that for Sarvadarsanam. Sudarsanam Token System was introduced to minimise the waiting time for Sarvadarsanam, Special Darshan and other paid darshan/sevass with the features of the time of darshan is indicated on the tokens. Pilgrims can enter the Vaikuntam Queue Complex at Tirumala at the time indicated on the tokens, they can have darshan within two hours of entering the Queue Complex., As this system saves on waiting time, it provides pilgrims with enough time to visit temples in the vicinity like Sri Govindarajaswami Temple and Kapila Teertham at Tirupati, Sri Padmavathi Ammavari Temple at Tiruchanur and Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swami Temple at Srinivasa Mangapuram. To help TTD keep a track of the

174 number of pilgrims and ensure their smooth flow, one token is issued per head. Collective tokens for groups are not issued. The tokens are available free of cost at the First Choultry (opposite the Tirupati Railway Station), Second Choultry (behind the Railway Station), Alipiri Bus Stand, Tirupati, Vaikuntam Queue Complex, Pilgrim Amenities Centre (Near CRO) and near the Rambagicha Guest House in Tirumala. Special Darshan for the Physically Disabled and the Aged This special darshan is arranged for the physically disabled and the aged through a separate gate at the Maha Dwaram,the main temple entrance. If necessary, such pilgrims can be accompanied by an attendant. II. METHODOLOGY A) OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The overall objective of the research was to capture devotees perception, preferences and satisfaction with various services and facilities provided by TTD. More specifically the research will look into the following aspects: 1. To measure satisfaction with respect to Seva-Darshanam facilities provided by the TTD Management. 2. To design information systems capable of providing the Seva-Darshanam facilities in a more efficient manner for the purpose of planning and managing the information systems (IS) / Information Technology environment. B) SAMPLING DESIGN Spread of sample, selection procedure are far more important than size of the sample. Hence this criterion is adopted for selection of sample. A multi stage stratified sampling method was adopted for the research study. This design has ensured adequate spread of sample and proper representation of the universe. C) TOTAL SAMPLE SIZE In order to elicit the views of the devotees a sample of 3000 was arrived upon after consultation with TTD officials. The next step was to distribute the sample of 3000 devotees into the following three stratas: Devotees at Tirupati / Tirumala; Devotees at other temples across the country (who are aware of Tirupati) and Donors to various schemes of TTD (Rs 5 lakh & above). A detailed sampling plan and distribution was worked to capture the perceptions and experience of the above categories of respondents. D) DATA COLLECTION Data relating to devotees perception was collected through three Questionnaires-a)Questionnaire for devotees at Tirupati/ Tirumala b) Questionnaire for devotees at other major temples across country, who were aware about Tirupati / Tirumala and c) Questionnaire for donors who had donated to various schemes of TTD. Data relating secondary sources is gathered through

175 discussions with TTD Officials and other employees. The study is basically a survey based research, which was done in four stages viz., Desk Research, In depth Interviews, Pilot Study and finally the Field work. III.DATA ANALYSIS Over the years TTD has taken many initiatives like refinement of queue systems, provision for seating, provision of food, milk, soft drinks, toilets etc., while in queue complex waiting for darshan. All these facilities seem to have registered and appreciated by the devotees 1.1. SATISFACTION WITH DARSHANAM FACILITIES TABLE 1.1: SATISFACTION WITH FACILITIES IN VAIKUNTAM QUEUE COMPLEX Satisfaction levels Percent Very Satisfied 30 Somewhat satisfied 48 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 12 Somewhat dissatisfied 06 Very dissatisfied 04 More than three fourth of the devotees are satisfied with facilities provided inside the Vaikuntam Queue Complex. Only 10 percent of devotees are not satisfied with facilities in Vaikuntam Queue complex.discussions with devotees had brought out some interesting pointers. Devotees complained that during rainy season there were certain segments of the Vaikuntam Queue complex where they get wet. Also, some devotees informed that they did not know how to access toilets while waiting in galleries in the Vaikuntam Queue complex. Devotees had experienced pushing in the queue, which is especially uncomfortable for women, children & elderly devotees. The common belief is that Sarvadarshanam and Sudarshanam being free are availed more by the devotees. However this research study shows that fifty percent of devotees covered in the study had bought Rs.50 special darshanam tickets, only 25 percent of the devotees had availed Sarvadarshanam or Surdarshanam darshanam while the remaining 25 percent had darshan through the other means of as shown in Table 1.2. In normal course higher denomination darshanam tickets means quicker darshanam and therefore should have resulted in higher satisfaction. This study shows that the reverse is true atleast during the study period. Higher percentage of devotees who had taken darshanam through Sudarshanam were satisfied.

176 TABLE 1.2: MODES OF DARSHAN & SATISFACTION (FIGURES IN PERCENTAGE) Categories of Darshan Devotees distribution among different darshans Satisfaction with Darshan Sarvadarshanam(Free, without token) 16 79 Sudarshanam(Free, with token indicating time) 9 85 Special Darshanam (Rs.50 ticket) 50 77 Special Darshanam (Rs.100 ticket) 12 79 VIP Darshanam 06 76 Cellar Entry Darshanam 01 83 Others(Through various kinds of Sevas, etc) 06 67 1.2. WAITING TIME TO GET DARSHANAM TICKETS TABLE 1.3: WAITING TIME TO GET DARSHAN TICKETS (FIGURES IN PERCENT) Categories of Darshan Classification according to time < 1Hour 1-2Hours 2-4 Hours > 4 Hours Sudarshanam (Free, with token indicating time) 69 14 6 11 Special Darshanam (Rs.50 ticket) 74 9 7 10 Special Darshanam (Rs100 ticket) 73 14 9 4 The data above suggest that the waiting time in the queue to get tickets for various darshans is almost same. Nearly 13-17 percent of the devotees had to wait in the queue for 2-4 hours to get a darshanam ticket. TTD needs to look into ways to reduce waiting time to get darshan ticket.

177 1.3. WAITING TIME IN VAIKUNTAM QUEUE COMPLEX In spite of TTD efforts in streamlining the queue system, 26 percent of respondents had to wait for more than 4 Hours inside the Queue Complex for getting Darshanam. Our discussions with TTD officials brought out that there was limited scope for further improvements. In view of this there is a need to proactively manage devotee traffic through putting out advisory about the likely scenario. This would result in certain devotees rescheduling their visit to Tirumala. TABLE 5.9 : WAITING TIME INSIDE VQC Duration of waiting Percent Less than 2 Hours 39 2-4 Hours 35 4-6 Hours 14 More than 6 Hours 12 IV. PLANNING AND MANAGING THE INFORMATION SYSTEMS / INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ENVIRONMENT FOR TTD 1. GENERAL INFORMATION SEVA BOOKING: The pilgrim sends a requisition letter to the Arjitham Office along with a DD. Based upon the availability, the Seva is booked. This process also takes care of current booking by cash. It also facilitates Postponement/ Preponement, viewing status about reservation, pilgrims, etc. SEVA REFUND: This process deals with dispatching of refund amount to Seva pilgrims for the following cases viz., Seva cancellation initiated by Pilgrims & Seva cancellation initiated by TTD SEVA DONATION: This process enrolls Pilgrims to various Seva schemes. It also takes care of intimating pilgrims at various stages during and after enrollment. SEVA REFERENCES: This process captures reference details about Seva, its donation scheme, calendar & quota information 2. ENTRY CRITERIA Pilgrim request for Seva through Advance Booking Or

178 Pilgrim request for Seva through Current Booking Or Pilgrim request for Advancement/Postponement of Seva Or Pilgrim request for cancellation of Seva Or Cancellation of Seva initiated by TTD Or Pilgrim request for availing of donation scheme 3. VALIDATION CRITERIA Quota limit setting for Seva tickets across categories such as Advance Booking, Booking, E-Booking, JEO, DEO, EO quotas. DD receipt for Advance Booking Cash receipt for Current Booking Approval for Arjitham Challan preparation. Availability check for the requested date, seva Confirmation of seva on a date Postponement/ Preponement occurrences Confirmation of DD realization for Advance Booking, Donation Schemes, Refund Request; No refund for current booking cancellation Seva tariff refund after deducting cancellation charges for Advance booking 4. PROCESS DESCRIPTION 4.1. ADVANCE BOOKING - CREATE/REJECT If seva is available on the requested date, it captures details like seva code, seva name, quota type, seva date, number of pilgrim name, Address, Gothram, DD details like Number, Date and Bank name. Regret letter sent to the Pilgrim if Requested Seva is not available on a date. Incorrect Seva Tariff If no seva is available on that date

179 4.2. ADVANCE BOOKING MODIFY Enables correction if any, with respect to pilgrim details like Name, Address, Gothram, DD details like Number, Date and Bank name. Other details like seva code, seva name, quota type, seva date, number of tickets, DD amount are not allowed to change 4.3. ADVANCE BOOKING - CONFIRM/REJECT Confirms advance booking details for a pilgrim which will enable challan Printing Regret letter is sent to the pilgrim if o o o Requested Seva is not available on a date Incorrect Seva Tariff If no seva is available on that date 4.4. POSTPONE/PREPONE SEVA Postpones / prepone Seva as per pilgrim request after ensuring sufficient time interval between the date requested and the postponed / preponed date Arjitham Challan is printed and sent to the pilgrim if postpone / prepone request satisfies the above criteria. 4. 5. SPECIAL CONFIRMATION - CURRENT BOOKING place Books seva for the current day or the following day by capturing pilgrim name and Only EO / DEO quota will come under this category Challan is printed and given to the pilgrim 4.6. CLOSE SEVA Closes Seva after the performance of seva by the pilgrim By this way, absentees list is maintained 4.7. VIEW BOOKING STATUS Enables viewing of Tickets limit, Issued, balance, status against various quotas for a given Seva and date

180 4.8. PILGRIM ENQUIRY Displays pilgrim name, Seva date along with DD and Reference number for a given range of Reference numbers, Seva dates and DD number 4.9. CURRENT BOOKING Books seva for the current day or the following day by recording pilgrim name, place, sex, age details Challan is printed and given to the pilgrim 4.10. PRINT CHALLAN - ADVANCE BOOKING/SPECIAL CONFIRMATION Printing of challan for confirmed sevas 4.11. MAINTAIN CANCELLATION REQUEST Pilgrim / TTD initiated seva cancellation process is handled here. Pilgrim submits the original challan and seeks refund Refund amount is defaulted and changes to it is also allowed if needed Proceedings is printed and sent to the pilgrim 4.12. DISPATCH CHEQUE Captures cheque details like the number, date issued, amount Cheque is dispatched to the pilgrim Refund process is then closed 4.13. RECORD DONATIONS Records donation details regarding scheme, donor name, address, preferred seva date(s), payment details. Intimation letter is printed and sent to the donor 4.14. CONFIRM DONATIONS Confirms donation details after DD realization Confirmation letter is printed and sent to the donor

181 4.15. SEND ADVANCE INTIMATION Prints intimation letter in advance to those donors whose seva scheme falls due in a specific period 4.16. SEND CONFIRMATION LETTER Prints confirmation letter for those donors who have consented to attend Seva(s) on their preferred date. 4.17. CLOSE SEVA - DONATION SCHEME Closes seva scheme as attended by the donor for the year 4.18. MAINTAIN SEVA DETAILS Capturing of details about a particular Seva like performance time, reporting time, no of persons allowed, tariff in Rs, minimum advance booking in details, seva type, prasadams/ bahumanams/ cheruppus that are applicable, whether or not the Seva is active, whether or not accommodation is assured etc. 4.19. MAINTAIN QUOTA Quota information (no of tickets) for Advance Booking, Current Booking, EBooking, EO,JEO,DEO are captured 4.20. MAINTAIN SEVA CALENDAR Captures information about the dates in which a particular Seva is performed or not due to some occasion 4.21. MARK SEVA AS EKANTHAM Marks a seva as ekantham. Such sevas are not entitled to be booked by pilgrims 4.22. VIEW EKANTHASEVAS Displays a list of Sevas that are marked Ekantham 4.23. MAINTAIN DONATION SCHEME Recording of details about a particular seva scheme like scheme code, scheme name, tariff in Rs., number of persons allowed, number of days performed, whether applicable to individual or institution, scheme validity in years, type of accommodation, number of persons, number of days of stay eligible, sevas that are.inc1uded in that scheme, prasadams list, whether or not the scheme is active, etc. are done

182 4.24. MAINTAIN OCCASION MASTER 5.EXIT CRITERIA Captures information about occasion code and descriptions Rejection of seva request due to invalid date / amount / non-availablility of seva Cancellation of seva either by pilgrim or by TTD Seva performance by the pilgrim thereby closing the seva Challan printing for seva current booking Expiry of donation scheme period 6. DELIVERABLES Sl. No. Deliverable Name Prepared By Reviewed By Approved By 1. Arjitham Challan 2. Regret Letter 3. Proceedings Statement to Pilgrim 4. Intimation Letter 5. Advance Intimation Letter 6. Confirmation Letter V.SUMMARY OF FINDINGS Seventy eight percent of devotees were satisfied with Darshanam facilities (Queue System, packaged food, toilets, cloak rooms, medical aid and overall management) provided inside the Vaikuntam Queue Complex (VQC), while waiting for Darshan. In spite of efforts by TTD to reduce waiting hours in the queue complex for getting Darshanam, twenty six percent of devotees had to wait for more than 4 hours. VI. SUGGESTIONS Check overcharging Hawkers charge high prices for packaged food, water, milk or newspapers on the outer part of Vaikuntam Queue Complex. TTD needs to check overcharging. Protection from rain Undertake proper maintenance to ensure that devotees are not wet during rainy season.

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