Andhra devotee offers Rs 1 crore to Lord Venkateswara

An ardent devotee of Lord Venkateswara has made a donation of Rs 1 crore to the famous hill shrine at Tirumala near here today.

T Srinivasa Rao, a businessman from the port city of Visakhapattanam in Andhra Pradesh, handed over a demand draft of Rs 1 crore to the temple authorities at a Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanms (TTD) guest house on the hills, an official said.

TTD Board, which administers the cash-rich temple, Chairman Chadalavada Krishnamurthy told PTI that the devotee requested the temple management to use the money for the pilgrim Free Meal Scheme.

Under the scheme, more than one crore devotees were offered free lunch annually for the last three decades, he added.