Mumbai devotee donates Rs 11 cr to TTD’s free food scheme

A Mumbai-based devotee donated Rs 11 crore to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams’ Sri Venkateswara Annaprasadam Trust.
Tushar Kumar from the Prasid Uno Family Trust donated the amount to TTD’s additional executive officer Venkaiah Chowdary in Tirumala.
“A devotee, Tushar Kumar of the Mumbai-based Prasid Uno Family Trust has made a generous donation of Rs 11 crore to the Sri Venkateswara Annaprasadam Trust on Monday,” said a press release from the temple body.
Former Chief Minister N T Rama Rao launched the Venkateswara Nithya Annadanam Endowment Scheme in 1985 to provide free food to 2,000 pilgrims daily.
The scheme was later transformed into an independent trust named Sri Venkateswara Nithya Annadanam Trust in 1994 and further renamed Sri Venkateswara Annaprasadam Trust in 2014.
Funded by donations from across the world, the trust deposits funds in nationalised banks and covers its expenses through the interest earned.
The mega kitchens of TTD, the official custodian of the Sri Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati, prepare nearly 14 tons of rice and procure 10,000 litres of milk daily. Thousands of devotees receive beverages and three daily meal.