Tonnes of garlands are used on the TTD for decorating and worshipping the gods. Now the used flowers are being recycled into different products.
The optimum utility of flowers and garlands used in TTD-run temples to make divine portraits besides household materials like paperweights, key chains, table calendars, pendants etc. using the traditional Dry Flower Technology method, has been a major hit with devotees.
The products have also earned appreciation from lawmakers and officials. TTD and Dr YSR horticultural University had signed an MoU on September 13, 2021, for providing Dry flower technology to make popular products including making portraits of the Hindu deities including Sri Venkateswara Swamy, Sri Padmavathi Devi, Sri Rama etc. that would attract the devotees in a big way.
TTD has also succeeded in the process as there is a huge demand for the DFT portraits among the pilgrim devotees.As part of the agreement, first batch of women workers were given training in making products at the Citrus Research Station.
From September 28 in 2021 onwards the training classes commenced. As many as 340 women from self-help groups were provided training and roped in by TTD to produce the artefacts. Two portraits could be made daily by one person and another 3-4 days for producing the final product.
So far, these trained women have made 22,219 portraits of A4 size and 850 other artefacts all worth Rs.1.19crores. TTD has spent ₹88 lakhs on the equipment besides training SHG women.
TTD has commenced sale of these portraits and artefacts to devotees from January 25. The artefacts are made available at TTD information centres in Tirumala, Tirupati Local temples, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Chennai.
Following the growing demand for DFT products from the public, TTD has decided to construct a permanent shed for manufacturing the artefacts and will soon be built at the Citrus Research Station itself.
