TTD to shift parakamani outside main temple complex

Bhoomi Puja for the facility to be performed today

As part of its plans to decongest the inner precincts of the temple of Lord Venkateswara, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams has resolved to shift its ‘parakamani’ — the process of sorting out of offerings received from the ‘hundi’ — to outside the main complex.

At present, the parakamani is organised in a very limited and rather congested foyer- like narrow hall behind the sanctum sanctorum inside the temple.

About 250 personnel enter the temple through the restricted exit gate (biometric gate) to attend parakamani duty daily, and 300 bags of coins are shipped out through the same means frequently interrupting the movement of the darshan lines.

This apart, the exteriors of the present parakamani hall are totally primed with glass panes and sans minimum ventilation, exposing the staff to skin and lung-related maladies. The non-availability of proper space for segregation of valuables, which resulted in piling up of coins worth several crores during past couple of years, besides inaccessibility to rest rooms and dress changing rooms have impelled the authorities towards its shifting.

The gargantuan vessel used as hundi is replaced at least 12 times in a day which speaks volumes about the amount of offerings received and the space required for sorting.

₹8.9 crore complex

Taking the above facts into consideration, the TTD decided to construct a new parakamani complex on the East Mada Street a few hundred yards away from the main temple opposite the Anna Prasadam complex at a cost of ₹8.90 crore.

The bhoomi puja for the new complex, which shall come up in a sprawling area of about 14,962 sq. ft would be constructed with the state-of-art technology with a high degree of security and ventilation equipped with an in built provision for attached rest rooms, will be performed on Friday.

According to TTD Additional Executive Officer A.V. Dharma Reddy, the shifting would also facilitate free movement for the shipping of coins, gold/silver and other precious proceeds besides giving vast scope for installation of sophisticated machinery, if required, given the availability of abundant space.

An ardent devotee, K. Muralikrishna from Bengaluru, has come forward to bear the entire cost of the building which shall be covered with bullet-proof glass from all the sides enabling devotees witness the entire process of sorting, counting and handing over of the proceeds to the designated bankers. The interesting feature is that the entire proceedings will be under the watch of public eye giving no room for any kind of pilferage.