TIRUMALA: The TTD has decided to modernize the Annadanam Canteen, which serves food to 55,000 pilgrims every day on an average, according to sources.
They told Express here on Monday that the decision was taken at a recent meeting at TTD executive officer D Sambasiva Rao’s Camp Office here.
The sources said that as part of the canteen modernization, the mode of transport of food from the main canteen to the Vaikuntam Queue and Amenities Complexes would be changed.
The mode of supply of tea and coffee and particularly milk to children and the aged would also be changed. Presently, the supply of milk was done manually and was provided to the pilgrims in glasses. Now it was proposed to supply the milk through exclusive pipes and make the entire distribution system hygienic, they said.
The sources further said that at the meeting, the EO had sanctioned two air-conditioned container cargos to the canteen to transport vegetables and leafy vegetables from Koyambedu Veg market in Chennai and Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu and Bangalore and other places to Tirumala. These were the places where the donors pooled their vegetables to donate the TTD. As of now, TTD-owned lorries were bringing the vegetables to Tirumala from these places. On an average, the donors were offering 150 tonnes to 200 tonnes of vegetables every month.
All these vegetables would soon be transported in temperature-controlled containers to preserve their freshness, they added. The sources said that the EO had also sanctioned an exclusive air-conditioned storage complex to the canteen in Tirupati to preserve the vegetables till they were consumed.