A Bangalore-based company has conceived the device which will be operated on a pilot basis from next week.
“We aim to reduce manpower involved in transport and sale of laddu,” says L V Subramanyam, the executive officer of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which manages the main temple and 12 other sub temples in Tirumala and Tirupati.
Devotees have to pay money at a counter and record thumb impression on the bio-metric gadget to get a token to use the vending machines.
The initiative will help the TTD distribute “laddu prasadam” round the clock. The TTD on an average sells nearly one lakh “laddus” every day and the number is much high on weekends and during festivals.
Published 29 October 2011, 19:30 IST