Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams to ban packaged water at Tirumala 

If the plan of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) materialises, packaged drinking water will be a thing of past on the hill shrine.
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams 
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams 

TIRUMALA:  If the plan of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) materialises, packaged drinking water will be a thing of past on the hill shrine. The TTD which runs 92 RO plants to supply pure drinking water to pilgrims 24x7, wants to ban the sale of packaged water as part of its measures to curb plastic pollution on the sacred hills. It is planning to encourage pilgrims to consume ‘Jala Prasadam’ from RO plants before enforcing the ban on packaged water.

Tirumala witnesses a footfall of more than one lakh pilgrims a day. According to an estimate, 50 per cent of pilgrims consume mineral water available in bottles to quench their thirst. On earlier occasions too, the TTD had taken steps to ban the use of bottled water.

Almost all the major brands of packaged water are available at Tirumala.  “About 6,000 to 8,000 cases of mineral water bottles are transported to Tirumala every day. The shops maintain a stock of more than 500 cases of mineral water bottles,” a TTD official said.  

TTD runs 92 Jala Prasadam RO plants

With an aim to curb the use of plastic on the hill shrine, Tirumala Special Officer AV Dharma Reddy is said to have proposed to ban the packaged drinking water by promoting the consumption of TTD Jala Prasadam. The TTD is supplying purified water with the help of Vegesna Foundation. The foundation is spending `8 lakh per month for maintenance of RO plants.

The Special Officer has held a series of review meetings with officials of health, engineering, water works and vigilance wings to implement the ban on packaged drinking water without causing any inconvenience to pilgrims. 

 “We are running 92 Jala Prasadam RO plants and one can get purified drinking water anywhere on the hill shrine. Another 28 RO plants are running at Tirupati and TTD headquarters,” Dharma Reddy told TNIE.
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal said, “We are not going to impose the ban on the sale of packaged drinking water at Tirumala all of a sudden.” 

“Our plan is to educate pilgrims that they can quench their thirst with the purified RO water. Our first aim is to see that pilgrims refill the water bottles during their stay at Tirumala instead of purchasing more,” the EO said. We are also planning a three-fold increase in the number of RO plants at Tirumala to ensure availability of Jala Prasadam to all, he said.

‘Jala Prasadam’ for pilgrims
The TTD with the help of Vegesna Foundation supplies Jala Prasadam (purified drinking water) to pilgrims 

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