TIRUMALA: Devotees have to wait at least till the fourth phase of lockdown ends on May 31 to have darshan of Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala, but they will get the Srivari Laddu prasadam in their city itself. TTD Trust Board chairman YV Subba Reddy on Wednesday announced that the Laddu prasadam will be made available in all the district headquarters and major towns of the State where the TTD has information centres or kalyana mandapams.
Bulk orders can also be booked. The Srivari laddu will come at a price of Rs 25 each instead of the actual price of Rs 50. Speaking to the media in Tirumala, Subba Reddy said, “We are not in a position to say when the darshan of Srivaru will resume. We are awaiting the Central government orders. A large number of devotees, particularly from AP and Tamil Nadu, are requesting us to resume darshan of the Lord through various social media platforms.’’ “At this time, we are not in a position to allow darshan of the Lord to the devotees.
We wanted to at least make available Laddu Prasadam as a blessing of the Lord. Since the lockdown has deprived the people of their income sources, we have decided to reduce the prices of the laddus by half,’’ he explained. People who want to purchase the laddus on a smaller scale can get them from their nearest TTD information counters or Kalayna mandapams or other TTD centres. Any individual or companies, who want to purchase the laddus in bulk, can contact temple deputy executive officer Harindranatha (98495 75952) or Assistant Executive Officer, Potu, (temple kitchen) N Srinivas (97010 92777) and they will sent the stock to their nearest destination, AV Dharma Reddy, Special officer, said.
Meanwhile, clarifying on the reports of cash crunch in the TTD and that it is not even in a position to pay wages to its employees, Dharma Reddy said the TTD has its own financial strength. “The Lord is very kind enough in the financial matters. The TTD always keep funds in current FD account (which is short term ) and minimum monthly expenditure only in the Savings account. As TTD earns interest from the banks, we always keep the amount in short term Fixed Deposit only,’’ Dharma Reddy said. “As and when the TTD needs money, we draw it from the short-term FDs and TTD does not need to withdraw money from long-term FDs,” he explained.
How can you buy it
Any individual or companies, who want to purchase the laddus in bulk, can contact temple deputy executive officer Harindranatha (98495 75952) or Assistant Executive Officer, Potu, (temple kitchen) N Srinivas (97010 92777) and they will sent the laddus to their nearest destination. People who want to purchase the laddus on a smaller scale can get them from their nearest TTD information counters or Kalayna mandapams or other TTD centres