Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal on Friday brushed aside speculations that special privileges extended to the donors of Srivani Trust in darshan has impacted hundi income at the Lord Venkateswara temple.
Mr. Singhal said that though there is a groundswell of support for the newly-floated trust from the pilgrims since its inception on November 4, the hundi income has largely remained unaffected.
Bolstering his claim, Mr. Singhal said that the TTD received ₹213 crore in donations to various trusts run by it during the current financial year (April-November) as against ₹178 crore during the corresponding period last year. The hundi income for the same period stood at ₹778 crore this year as against ₹708 crore during the corresponding period last year, he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr. Singhal added that the same is the case with gold and silver proceeds netted from the temple hundi. While the gold proceeds netted from the hundi stood at an all-time high of 803 kg as against 562 kg during the corresponding period last year, the silver yield touched a high of 3,852 kg, double that of last year’s 1,859 kg.
The temple has grown richer by over ₹125 crore by way of donations and hundi offerings alone during the past seven months.