Mumbai Trust donates Rs 11 crore to Tirumala

Another devotee presented a gold-plated Makarathorana to the presiding deity Mallanna of Srisailam. The total value of Makarathorana, weighing 250 gram, is said to be Rs 24,45,000

Hyderabad: A Mumbai-based trust has donated Rs 11 crore to Sri Venkateswara Annaprasadam Trust of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. Tushar Kumar, a member of Prasid Uno Family Trust, handed over the cheque to TTD’s Additional EO Sri Ch Venkaiah Chowdary, a press release from the temple authorities said.

The annadanam trust was launched in 1985 by former Chief Minister NT Rama Rao to provide free food to pilgrims. It was initially named Venkateswara Nithya Annadanam Endowment Scheme. The name of the trust was changed to Sri Venkateswara Nithya Annadanam Trust after it became an independent trust in 1994. The trust was renamed Sri Venkateswara Annaprasadam Trust in 2014.

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The mega free food scheme is funded by donations from around the world. According to the trust, it costs around Rs 38 lakh a day to feed the devotees right from breakfast to dinner. The trust provides three meals a day.

Apart from serving at the Sri Venkateshwara temple in Tirumala, the trust also provides Annaprasadam to the visiting pilgrims at other local temples in the surrounding during the Brahmotsavams and other auspicious occasions. The free food service feeds around 2 lakh devotees daily, according to the Sri Venkateswara Annaprasadam Trust.

In another instance, a devotee M Ramachandra Rao from Krishna district presented a gold-plated Makarathorana to the presiding deity Mallanna of the famous shrine of Srisailam in Nandyal district. The total value of Makarathorana, weighing 250 gram, is said to be Rs 24,45,000.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday, February 17, said the temple economy, “valued at Rs 6 lakh crore”, is the largest economic activity in the country. Naidu said Andhra Pradesh manages 27,000 temples and sees a footfall of 21 crore pilgrims annually, the highest in the country.

The CM also expressed a desire to build a Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple in every State headquarters and every country with a Hindu population.