After a long gap, the authorities have resumed the sale of the famed and a favourite of everyone, Srivari laddus.
The laddus had been sold for three days at the employees’ counter located behind the administrative building, but as the counter witnessed heavy rush, it was shifted on Monday to ‘Srinivasam’ pilgrims accommodation complex, where special counters and queue lines are readied.
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On getting the information, people made a beeline to the counters to receive their favourite and sacred delicacy. The big and small laddus are priced at ₹200 and ₹50 each, while the vada is sold for ₹100.
As intra-district movement of vehicles has been eased under the lockdown 4.0, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams(TTD) got the sale counter shifted to ‘Srinivasam’, so that at least the locals from across the district could relish their favourite ‘Prasadam’.
This exercise is also considered a rehearsal ahead of the full-fledged functioning of the kitchen and the extensive sale of other ‘Prasadams’ once the kitchen gears up for their preparation.
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As Sri Venkateswara temple at Tirumala remains closed for public due to the lockdown for nearly two months, the TTD management had stopped preparing the laddus for pilgrims.
But since the laddus are to be offered every day to the presiding deity (Moolavirat), as prescribed in the temple doctrine ‘Thaligai Dittam’, they continued preparing the sweet in small quantities.
When the TTD took a call to shut down the temple a week ahead of the national lockdown, these laddus were given away in advance to the employees and the rest distributed among other frontline warriors as a humanitarian gesture.