Naidu inaugurates ₹13.4cr kitchen at Tirumala; can serve 1.25L people
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated the Vakulamatha centralized kitchen at Tirumala, which can serve up to 1.25 lakh people daily, on Saturday. The kitchen was established by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) at a cost of ₹13.4 crore. Following the inauguration, CM Naidu held a review meeting with TTD officials to discuss various issues related to preserving Tirumala's sanctity and improving pilgrim services while discouraging VIP culture.
Naidu reviews plans to preserve Tirumala's sanctity
The review meeting was attended by State Endowments Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, principal secretaries, and TTD officials. During this meeting, Naidu directed the TTD officials to initiate long-term measures to preserve the sanctity and serenity of Tirumala. He instructed them to draw up a five-year roadmap for increasing green cover in Seshachalam forests and preserving its biodiversity.
Centralized kitchen in Tirumala
Naidu addresses water scarcity, VIP culture in Tirumala
Naidu also addressed the issue of periodic water scarcity in Tirumala, instructing officials to ensure adequate plans are drawn up to mitigate this problem. He further directed them to provide world-class pilgrim services to common devotees. Additionally, he emphasized on using only best quality ingredients in the preparation of sacred Laddu prasadams and other Naivedya prasadams. The new kitchen was inaugurated amid an ongoing row over allegations that the ghee used for making laddus at Tirupati temple contained animal fats.
