The trial-run of the roti-making machine was on Wednesday conducted at the newly constructed TTDs Nitya Annadanam Complex. The massive multi-crore structure which is coming up on a two-acre site at the north-east corner of the hill temple of Lord Venkatswara will be inaugurated by President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil on July 7.
Talking to media persons after formally inaugurating the newly installed roti-making machine, the TTD's Executive Officer I.Y.R. Krishna Rao said that the intention behind the commissioning of the machine was to meet the food requirements of the devotees, particularly those coming from the Northern parts of India whose staple food is ‘roti'.
Lot of spade work done
A lot of spade work was done by the TTD ahead of the introduction of the machine. A high-level team of TTD officials was sent to the Golden Temple in Amritsar to assess the functioning of the machine. Based on their recommendations, the management purchased the machine from Coimbatore.
2,000 rotis in one hour
The machine had the capacity to produce over 2,000 rotis per hour. The rotis will also be served to the visiting devotees from Thursday at the TTDs old annadanam complex.
Later, Mr. Rao also ordered the officials to take the required steps for setting up a mini first-aid clinic at the sprawling ATC car parking area – the point where various darshan queue lines meet.
Prominent among others who accompanied him included the Tirumala-based TTD Joint Executive Officer K. Srinivasa Raju, Special Grade Deputy Executive Officer Lakshmi Kantham, Superintending Engineer Ramesh Reddy and Executive Engineer Jaganmohan Reddy and other officials.