Devotees at Indrakeeladri in Vijayawada can now get the Kanaka Durga temple’s laddu prasadam the way they would buy a snack at an airport: pay by UPI and collect it from a machine. The self-service vending machine, introduced on a pilot basis at the Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam on Wednesday (September 23, 2026), is the first of its kind at a temple in Andhra Pradesh, temple authorities said.

Endowments Department Commissioner K. Ramachandra Mohan inaugurated the machine at the Central Information Centre at the foot of Indrakeeladri, near the beginning of Arjuna Veedhi, in the presence of temple chairman Borra Radhakrishna (Gandhi), Executive Officer V.K. Seena Naik and temple officials.

The laddu prasadam vending machine, decorated for its inauguration, at the foot of Indrakeeladri in Vijayawada on Wednesday.

Special Arrangement

The temple’s Trust Board approved the machines, which it called ‘laddu ATMs,’ at its meeting on September 15. Sri Raj Computers & IT Solutions won the contract at ₹6.95 lakh, which includes five years of maintenance. At Tirumala, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams’ (TTD’s) kiosks, introduced in 2025, issue tokens for additional laddus that pilgrims then collect at the counters.

Mr. Ramachandra Mohan said the facility was intended to help devotees obtain prasadam without having to wait in queues at the regular counters. The machine had been introduced on a trial basis and its functioning would be assessed before considering similar facilities at other locations where there was a heavy flow of devotees, he said.

Warning against fake puja tickets

Mr. Ramachandra Mohan also cautioned devotees against approaching unauthorised persons or intermediaries for temple darshan and puja tickets.

Referring to the recent case involving fake puja tickets in Vijayawada, he said the temple authorities had alerted the police and lodged a complaint, and legal action was being taken against those responsible.

He advised devotees to obtain temple services and tickets only through the official websites and digital applications of the government and temple administration, or through authorised counters. He urged devotees to remain vigilant against touts and intermediaries offering tickets.

Dasara preparations

Preparations for the Dasara festivities at Indrakeeladri were under way, Mr. Ramachandra Mohan said. He said a plan was being prepared for devotees expected to arrive from different parts of Andhra Pradesh and other States. The arrangements were focusing on crowd regulation, queue management, drinking water, distribution of prasadam and security, he said.

The temple authorities were also making arrangements for shelters to protect devotees from sun and rain and for continuous monitoring of the facilities, he said.