With heavy rush of devotees, the total collection at the Lord Ayyappa temple here has touched Rs 75 crore since the beginning of the pilgrimage season in mid-November.
Last year’s collection during the same period of 33 days was Rs 64.75 crore, a press release from the Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the hill shrine, said.
The revenue earned from the sale of ‘Aravana’ (jaggery prasad) was Rs 31 crore, ‘Appam’ Rs 6.63 crore, and ‘Kaanikka’ (Hundi) Rs 28 crore.
Meanwhile, Food Safety personnel conducted raids yesterday in some hotels and eating joints near the hill temple and seized stale food.
Hotels in which food was prepared in unhygienic conditions were issued strict warnings and action was initiated against shops that sold adulterated food materials, it said.
“If such instances are brought to notice again, legal action will be initiated against these shops,” the District Food Inspector said.
