Students pursuing nursing, physiotherapy, paramedical and allied courses at the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams’ (TTD) Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS University) will get free meals daily, with the management opening a new kitchen to take the extra load.
Around 800 students will be provided with food—breakfast, lunch, evening snacks and dinner— as ‘Srivari Anna Prasadam’ free of cost, and the system of collecting ₹3,500 from the students for food through a canteen contractor will be discontinued.
TTD Executive Officer A.V. Dharma Reddy inaugurated the kitchen on Friday, in the presence of Joint Executive Officer V. Veerabrahmam, SVIMS Director B. Vengamma and TTD Educational Officer C. Govindarajan.
He also inspected the new appliances and cooking systems installed on the premises, besides taking a look at the menu and interacting with the kitchen staff.
Mr. Dharma Reddy said the initiative would help reduce the financial burden on the parents. He asked the students to form teams to clean the hostel rooms and kitchen daily. The warden and deputy warden should supervise the rooms and kitchen regularly, he said.