TIRUMALA: Setting new benchmarks in its long history, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has significantly increased the production and sale of the famous Tirupati laddu prasadam, ensuring steady supply to the growing number of devotees visiting the temple.
Contrary to rumours circulating on social media, officials said there is no shortage of laddu prasadam. In fact, the temple administration is currently producing more than seven lakh laddus every day to meet the rising demand.
Production, which stood at about 5.3 lakh laddus on December 28 last year, has steadily increased following a planned expansion by the TTD. According to officials, laddu production reached a record 8.38 lakh on Saturday (March 14). By 4 pm on the same day, which coincided with the weekend and second Saturday holiday, laddu sales had already crossed four lakh.
Assistant Executive Officer of the Potu (temple kitchen) Muni Rathnam said production currently ranges between seven lakh and eight lakh laddus daily, and has even crossed 8.3 lakh on some days.
He said Additional EO Venkaiah Choudary has been monitoring the process on a daily basis and issuing instructions to scale up production in line with demand. Buffer stocks are also being maintained to avoid shortages.
“With the influx of devotees expected to increase during weekends and the summer season, we are preparing laddus proportionate to the footfall,” Muni Rathnam explained.
Official figures show that in February the temple produced 1,06,79,400 laddus while sales touched 1,07,23,400. In January, production stood at 1,26,88,800 laddus and sales at 1,26,77,258. Officials expect both production and sales to rise further in March due to holidays and increased pilgrim footfall.
Additional EO Venkaiah Choudary told the TNIE that there is no shortage of ghee or other ingredients required for preparing the prasadam. Devotees continue to receive the laddus at counters without difficulty and have expressed satisfaction over the quality, he said.
AI-driven machines aid quality checks
Modern technology is also playing a key role in maintaining quality standards in the preparation of laddu prasadam.
Advanced ingredient sorting machines have been installed in the Ugranam, the temple’s kitchen store, to remove impurities before the ingredients are used in preparation.
Two latest double-chute vision-based colour sorting machines manufactured by Genn Solutions of Coimbatore are currently in operation. These machines help identify and remove impurities and foreign particles from ingredients used in the preparation of laddus and other prasadam items.
Each machine has a capacity of 1.5 tonnes per hour and uses advanced AI-based technology to ensure that the ingredients are free from contamination before they are sent to the kitchen.
Officials said the machines were customised to suit the needs of the temple kitchen, helping improve efficiency and quality control. The equipment, costing about Rs 40 lakh, was funded by TVS as part of its support to the temple administration.