Tirupati: NRI pharma entrepreneur Rama Raju Mantena on Wednesday donated Rs 9 cr to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) on Wednesday.Mantena, chairman and chief executive officer of Ingenus Pharmaceuticals, headquartered in the US, originally hailed from Vijayawada. He moved to the US in the 1980s. Mantena’s daughter Netra had a lavish wedding with tech entrepreneur Vamsi Gadiraju in Udaipur on Nov 23. The event was attended by A-list celebrities from across the country.The NRI pharma tycoon along with his newly-wed daughter, Netra Mantena, and son-in-law, Vamsi Gadiraju, offered prayers to Lord Venkateswara at the Tirumala temple on Wednesday morning.Later, Rama Raju Mantena met TTD chairman BR Naidu and additional executive officer Ch Venkaiah Chowdary at Sri Padmavathi guesthouse and extended a donation of Rs 9 cr to the TTD.TTD chairman thanked Rama Raju Mantena for the donation and assured him that the Tirupati trust will utilise his donation for the modernisation of three pilgrim amenities complexes at Tirumala.BR Naidu told reporters that Rama Raju Mantena was an ardent devotee of Lord Venkateswara and recalled that earlier in 2012, Rama Raju donated Rs 16 cr to the TTD.Vizianagaram MP Kalisetty Appala Naidu and other Devasthanams officials were also present.
