With complaints pouring in that the laddus sold at the counters of the Tirumala hill shrine are less than its prescribed weight, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams is planning to introduce barcoding of the laddu trays.
TTD Executive Officer D. Sambasiva Rao told The Hindu that barcodes would be assigned to the laddu trays before they were shifted to the sale counters from the temple kitchen.
Even as the TTD has enhanced the production of laddus to three lakh per day, in an attempt to meet the growing demand, pilgrims allege that the laddus available at the counters are less than their prescribed weight. The devotees blame the deceitful tactics adopted by the staff for the malpractice and say that the staff are tampering with the weight of the laddus to spin fact bucks. The available laddus weigh between 120 gm and 160 gm each, sometime even less against the prescribed weight of 180 gm, pilgrims allege. To keep such malpractice at bay, the TTD, in the past, had stepped up surveillance and digital weighing machines were set up near the sale counters. Instructions were also issued that devotees should check the weight of laddus and lodge a complaint, in case of any malpractice. But, all such moves appear to have yielded little result, if the intermittent complaints from devotees pertaining to the underweight of laddus are of any indication.
“Now, barcoding will help detect as to who is tampering with the weight of the laddus –kitchen staff, supporting staff or those at sale counters? CCTV cameras will also be installed at all laddu counters to prevent such malpractice,” Dr. Rao said .
Further, the TTD has appointed a DSP rank officer to supervise the entire process of laddu production and its marketing. Dr. Rao also sternly warned the heads of all the concerned departments involved in the making and marketing of the delicious laddus to strictly adhere to the prescripts or face with the penalty.
Barcoding system will help detect as to who is tampering with the weight of laddus –kitchen staff, supporting staff or those at sale counters?
