Devotees visiting the historic Sri Sitaramachandra Swamy temple in Bhadrachalam can savour a bigger laddu than the exiting laddu prasadam, albeit at a little extra cost, from October 1.
The temple authorities are mulling over a proposal to increase the size of the laddu from the existing 80 gms, priced at ₹15 each, to 100 gms, likely to be priced at ₹20 each.
The plan to increase the size of the laddu and revise its rate was prompted by a spurt in the prices of the ingredients used in the preparation of laddus in the aftermath of the implementation of the new Goods and Services Tax (GST).
The temple authorities have also drawn up plans to increase the size of the Kalyana Laddu from the present 300 gms to 500 gms and sell it at ₹100 each.
The pilgrims can buy the giant Kalyana Laddu , originally meant for distribution among the Nitya Kalyanam ticket-holders, during the daily ritual free of cost as a customary practice.
The sale of Kalyana Laddu to the devotees would likely begin from October 1, the temple sources said.
The temple sells around 2,000 to 3,000 laddus every day. The demand for laddus peaks to over 10,000 per day during special occasions like Srirama Navami and Mukkoti Ekadasi. The temple authorities have already initiated the process of inviting suggestions and objections from the devotees on the proposals.
The temple, at present, incurs an expenditure of ₹16 to prepare a laddu of 80 gms.
The proposed move to increase the size of the laddu by 20 gms and fix its price at ₹20 each would prove a viable proposition, asserted a temple employee, who did not wish to be identified.
The Bhadradri laddu is a sacred prasadam and not a commodity to weigh on loss and profit propositions, argued Sudhakar, a private employee, who is a regular visitor to the shrine.
The temple laddu should be made available at a subsidised price as a large chunk of devotees of Bhadradri temple hail from poor and middle class sections, he insisted.
When contacted, the temple assistant executive officer, Sravan Kumar, told The Hindu that the devotees can submit their suggestions and objections, if any, on the proposals in writing before August 29.
The proposals have been made keeping in view the rise in the cost of ingredients used in the preparation of laddus and the needs of the devotees, he said.
