Andhra Pradesh - Tirupati   

Philanthropy at its best in Venkateswara temple

Staff Reporter

Distribution of free food has always been associated with religious festivals and institutions. It is considered to be the most exalted form of providing succour to the needy

TIRUPATI : The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is running a full-fledged `Annadanam Trust' at Tirumala on the principle that `no devotee visiting Tirupati shall go hungry' and feeding around 20,000 pilgrims everyday.

Similarly, under `Ksheeradanam' scheme, a glass of milk is being distributed daily to devotees waiting in the queue complex.

It is actually centuries-old practice for religious institutions to conduct poor-feeding during Brahmotsavam with the belief that providing a morsel of food to the hungry is the most exalted form of charity. Several caste-based organisations, social bodies and commercial establishments converge on Tirupati to conduct `annadanam' during the nine-day festival.

Other donors

Sri Kasi Annapurna Vasavi Arya Vysya Vruddasramam and Nityannadana Satram on Srikrishna Devaraya road conduct `annadanam' for devotees everyday on its premises. The Tirumala-Tirupati Hotels Association embarks on the novel task of making each member of the hotel meet the cost of distributing a fixed number of food packets to devotees at Alipiri during the Brahmotsavam.

Several benefactors choose Alipiri not merely for sentimental reasons as it is at the foot of Tirumala, but also to ensure that the scheme benefits genuine devotees .

Meanwhile, there was heavy rush of pilgrims on Thursday at the temple. Waiting time for pilgrims (with `Sudarsan' tokens) stretched beyond 94 hours while the waiting period for the Rs. 50 special entry darshan tickets extended to 77 hours.

The temple netted a record income of Rs.3.27 crores during the past three days of the festival.

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Philanthropy at its best in Venkateswara temple

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