Tirupati, July 07: President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil will inaugurate the Nitya Annadanam complex and launch a free ‘roti-sabzi’ scheme for pilgrims from North India at Tirumala on Thursday, during her one day visit to the hill shrine of Lord Venkateshwara.
Besides this, the President will also unveil a state-of-the art Roti Making machine which can produce 2000 rotis every hour.
Quoting the verses from the Vedas, ‘Annadanam Samam Danam Trilokeshu Na Vidhathe’, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams officials said meaning Annadanam is supreme and incomparable to any charity. Hence giving food to the devotees is more than attaining heaven.
The TTD said that it has taken up this noble task of serving the hungry providing free food in the name of Annadanam since several decades.
With its prime motto-“Manava Sevaye Madhava Seva”, the TTD is marching ahead in Nitya Annadanam scheme from the past 25 years, it said.
TTD began the free food service to the pilgrims on April 6, 1985 with a feeding capacity of just 2000 pilgrims. But today as many as 35-45thousand devotees are enjoying free meals every day and revere it as ‘Lord Venkateswara’s prasadam’ in the massive Annadanam complex at Tirumala which is open for 12 hours a day .
In view of every increasing pilgrim influx to the holy hill shrine, the number of pilgrims consuming free meals has also considerably increased year by year. On an average, in a year, over one crore pilgrims consume free meals in the Annadanam Complex of TTD.
To facilitate the devotees TTD has taken up construction of a new massive Annadanam complex to accommodate more devotees. While the present building has the capacity to feed almost 2000 pilgrims in one sitting, the new complex constructed at a cost of Rs.33cr can accommodate 4000 pilgrims at a time.
Spread over two lakh square feet, the new Annadanam building consists of four massive halls, each with a capacity of 1000 seats. Apart from providing the South Indian rice meals, TTD has also made arrangement for providing Roti and sabzi to the devotees from the North. It has purchased rothi making machine which can prepare 2000 rothis in an hour. Apart from this, state – of –art of machinery has also been installed in this massive complex.
The new Annadanam complex will have a capacity to facilitate free food to 75,000 to one lakh pilgrims daily.
——-Agencies