Andhra Pradesh - Tirumala   

Tirupati ‘laddus’ soon in open market

– FILE PHOTO

In demand: Laddus being produced in Tirumala.

TIRUMALA: The TTD management is seriously contemplating ending the rationing of the much sought-after ‘laddu’ prasadam of Lord Venkateswara which have great demand among visiting devotees. The temple management has imposed restrictions in the issuance of the laddus to cover its inability in meeting the growing demand from pilgrims coupled with the fear of black-marketers who do not hesitate to sell them at exorbitant rates.

It is against this backdrop that top TTD officials on Friday conducted a trial run at the ‘boondi-mixture’ plant situated adjacent the temple complex. The ‘boondi-mixture’ plant is being constructed at a whopping cost of Rs.5 crore using state-of-the-art technology.

According to TTD special officer A.V.Dharma Reddy, the technology is said to be imported from the United Kingdom. The temple management has installed over 40 giant-sized ovens at the plant for the preparation of the ‘Boondi’ - the main ingredient used in the making of the laddus. The mixture prepared thus is carried in huge containers into the temple kitchen through a conveyor belt.

Once the process of laddu making is completed they are carried back to the plant in the same containers and later transported to the laddu selling counters for marketing.

According to temple officials, a series of trial runs would be conducted to ensure hassle-free transportation of the laddus from the kitchen. The management is optimistic of starting the laddu production on a full scale from December 20.

And if everything goes well, the temple management will be in a comfortable position to produce over five lakh laddus daily, beginning January 1, 2010, to cope with any type of demand from the visiting devotees.

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Tirupati ‘laddus’ soon in open market

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