The Tirumala temple authorities faced an embarrassment on Tuesday when a batch of ‘laddus' prepared in its massive kitchen inside the shrine tasted acutely saltish instead being deliciously sweet.
The literal ‘mix-up' came to light when some devotees who had a mouthful of the ‘sweet' laddus, which they purchased in one of the counters, had to hurriedly spew it out, with the lump tasting highly saltish much to their shock. As the news trickled down to the authorities concerned, they managed to collect the ‘saltish' laddus from the devotees wherever possible and replaced them with good ones.
After Tirumala-based Telugu news channels broadcast the news, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams' Joint Executive Officer (Tirumala), K. Bhaskar, clarified what happened.
Confirming the incident, he said that only a batch of about 500 laddus were involved in the ‘mix-up.' Based on preliminary reports, three workers employed in the ‘contract potu' were suspended pending a probe.
This article was corrected for an editorial mistake.
