The pilgrims of Tirumala consider the Anna Prasadam as the blessing of Lord Venkateswara and the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is least worried about its poor quality, said TDP general secretary, Nara Lokesh, on Tuesday.
Expressing anger at the negligence of the TTD authorities on supply of such inferior quality Anna Prasadam, Lokesh said in a statement released here that the pilgrims revolting against the TTD on supply of such low quality food for them at Tirumala Vengamamba Anna Prasadam reflects how the temple authorities are resorting to largescale corruption atop the Tirumala Hills. “My grand-father, the late NT Rama Rao, had launched the Anna Dana Nilayam on April 6, 1985 atop the Tirumala Hills and since then slowly but steadily the system of supplying free food has been extended widely with the help of all sections to satiate crores of pilgrims hunger,” Lokesh said.
These Anna Prasadams, which were set up with liberal donations from patrons, have turned into centres of corruption after the YSRCP came to power, Lokesh remarked and regretted that the quality of the Anna Prasadams too has been lowered.
Devotees, who come to Tirumala from across the country, consider the food supplied at the Anna Prasadams as more sacred than even Prasadam, Lokesh said and demanded the TTD to answer the pilgrims as to why such poor quality food is being supplied at the Anna Prasadams.
Stating that he donates Rs 30 lakh every year on the birthday of his son, Devansh, for Anna Danam (food charity), Lokesh asked where all the money being donated by several lakhs of people like him is going and why such inferior quality food is being supplied to the pilgrims. Lokesh is confident that though these corrupt people are safeguarded by the ruling YSRCP, they will certainly be punished by the Almighty. The YSRCP Government and the TTD Trust Board will have to pay a very heavy price for violating the sanctity of Tirumala Tirupati.
The ruling party leaders threatening to register cases against those who raise their voice on the corruption and irregularities in the TTD, raises doubts on the involvement of the ruling party leaders in the corruption in TTD, he stated. It is really atrocious that no compensation has been paid yet to the family members of a kid who was killed by a tiger though the court has also ordered for the payment, Lokesh regretted.
It is really surprising that the TTD, which gets the highest revenue in the world, does not have even Rs 5 lakh to pay as ex gratia to the family of that kid, Lokesh said. Is it not a conspiracy to distance the pilgrims from Lord Venkateswara by revising the bus charges to Tirumala, withdrawing the facility to supply food to the pilgrims who are standing in the queue lines and milk to the kids, hiking the prices of laddus by bringing down the quality and increasing the rent of the rooms from Rs 100 to Rs 1,000, Lokesh asked.
