Blaze At Tirumala Laddu Kitchen

Tirupati: A fire broke out in the kitchen of the hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara near here today, but no one was injured, temple authorities said.

The blaze occurred when ghee deposits on the walls of the kitchen caught fire from the embers of one of the huge ovens and spread to the tin-sheet roof, the sources told PTI. Fire-tenders arrived and doused the flames after a one-hour battle. The kitchen is located a few metres from the main temple complex.

Following the mishap, laddu preparation was suspended for the day and would be resumed tomorrow, the sources said. Annually, about 10 crore laddus are made and sold at a subsidised price of Rs 25 per piece while the actual cost was Rs 33, they said.

PTI