Fire in Tirumala laddu kitchen

Nellore: A fire broke out in the kitchen (potu) at Tirumala while making boondi for laddus around 1.45 pm on Sunday. Huge flames and thick smoke coming out of the building located close to the laddu counters created a panic among the pilgrims.

Authorities rushed two fire fighting units and contained the fire.

Fire mishaps in the boondi potu have become a regular feature and the outbreak  is attributed to the  deposits of ghee on the walls.

Srivari temple deputy executive officer (DyEO), Mr Harindranath, claimed that that there was no property loss and it was only a minor fire inside the boondi potu at Tirumala.

Narrating the sequence of events, he said a ghee tin slipped out of the hand of a potu worker, while he was pouring ghee into the boondi fryer bandli, causing a cascading fire.

The fire was put off by the fire services staff with assistance of other technical workers within half an hour.

There has been no injury to any one and also no loss of property, the DyEO reiterated.

However, as a result of the incident, the entire potu and its surroundings were cleaned up and the production of boondi on 20 stoves commenced after a small break thereafter, he added.