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As laddu row continues, Naidu holds review meeting with TTD
The Vakula Matha kitchen is meant for preparation of free meals, provided to as many as 1.25 lakh devotees. The kitchen has the capacity to prepare food for 18,000 people in just half-an-hour.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced an overhaul of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) administration that manages the Tirumala temple in Tirupati district on Saturday.
Naidu, who came to Tirumala for the first time after the laddu adulteration controversy and took part in the Lord’s Brahmotsavams on Friday night, also inaugurated Vakula Matha kitchen built at a cost of ₹13.4 crore near the temple.
The Vakula Matha kitchen is meant for preparation of free meals, provided to as many as 1.25 lakh devotees. The kitchen has the capacity to prepare food for 18,000 people in just half-an-hour.
After inaugurating the kitchen, Naidu told reporters that the state government has already begun the exercise of cleansing the TTD. “There is no question of compromising on the quality of laddu and other prasadam of Lord Venkateshwara,” he said.
“All necessary steps will be taken to maintain the quality of products, right from the supply of raw material till the prasadam comes out of the kitchen,” he added.
Earlier, in the morning, TTD executive officer J Shyamala Rao issued orders abolishing the reverse tendering system introduced in 2020 by the previous government for procurement of raw material required for making prasadam from the contractors who quote the lowest bid.
Maintaining that no person in the world could copy the quality of the prasadam of Lord Venkateswara, he said that they had obtained patent rights for the laddu prasadam. “The laddu, mysorepak and vada are a speciality,” he added.
Earlier, Naidu held a review meeting with the TTD officials on various activities at Sri Padmavathi Guest House on Tirumala, where he proposed several reforms in the temple management.
Naidu emphasised that devotees feedback on TTD services should be focused and special efforts be made to collect their opinions and study its feasibility for implementation. He asked the state endowment minister Anam Ramnarayan Reddy to implement feedback mechanism from the devotees at all premiere temples on the lines of Tirumala for improving facilities to pilgrims.
The chief minister instructed TTD officials to focus on elevating and promoting the glory, sanctity and devotees faith in Tirumala shrine and only Govinda Nama Smarana should resound in Tirumala.
He said the Tirumala is the holiest spiritual hub of the country and as such everyone should strive to enhance the glory of Lord Venkateswara and also the sanctity and serenity of Tirumala.
Naidu insisted that there should be no compromise in service to common devotees and VIP culture should be reduced to normalcy and the everyone should respect the sentiments of devotees and act accordingly.
“Devotees should go home with good memories of their spiritual experience at Tirumala,” he asserted.
Among others, he directed officials to make advance plan on water availability, increase forest coverage from present 72% to 80% with a five-year plan, biodiversity protection measures of TTD forests, continue the quality of laddu and anna prasadam (food offering) as devotees are happy with the present standards.
