The famous 'Tirupati laddu', the 'prasad' of the ancient hill temple of Sri Venkateswara atop Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh, will be available for purchase by devotees at a subsidised price in the headquarters of all 13 districts in the state from Monday.
About 10,000 laddus would be made available at the marriage halls or information centres of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which administers the cash-rich temple at Tirumala, in the district headquarter towns or cities, a temple official said on Friday.
The 'laddu', which is priced at Rs 50 each, would be sold at Rs 25 as a token of appreciation to the devotees during the COVID-19 lockdown period, the official told PTI.
Fresh stock would be transported from the holy hills a day before the existing inventory is exhausted at the respective places, he added.
Entry of devotees to the more than 2,000-year old temple, that used to draw thousands from across the country every day during normal times, has been barred since March 20 to check the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
The devotees of Sri Venkateswara in Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad could also be able to receive the 'laddus' at subsidised price soon. The dates for this would be announced later.
TTD authorities were pursuing the matter with respective state governments for their nod in view of COVID-19 lockdown, the temple official added.
Those who wished to purchase large quantities of laddus for free distribution among other devotees can contact toll-free numbers - 18004254141 or send an email to tmlbulkladdus@gmail.com.
Earlier this week, TTD Trust Board Chairman, YV Subba Reddy said that in spite of the lockdown restrictions, the devotees were generously contributing through e-Hundi and thus, expressing their immense devotion.
During April 2020, the e-Hundi collection stood at Rs 1.97 crore, an increase of Rs 18 lakh over the contribution made by devotees electronically during the same month last year.
Read: