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Hyderabad, March 4: The Tirumala temple earned Rs 2,010 crore in 2012-13 at a time of job losses and declining production caused by the global slowdown and political unrest in the state.
It earned Rs 808 crore just from the hundi — spot donations by the 3.26 crore devotees who visited the shrine, up from Rs 731 crore the previous year. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam expects four crore visitors this fiscal year and projects a hundi earning of Rs 859 crore and total revenues of Rs 2,248 crore.
These details were given by the Devasthanam’s executive officer, L.V. Subramanyam, today.
“As social tensions and political and economic uncertainties rise, so does devotees’ urge to seek Lord Venkateswara’s blessings,” chief priest A.V. Ramana Dikshitulu explained.
“We earned Rs 145 crore from the sale of human hair (from visitors who get tonsured). We expect to raise Rs 185 crore from the sale of 2 lakh kilos of hair in 2013-14,” Subramanyam said.
A sum of Rs 181 crore came from the sale of special darshan tickets of Rs 300 each; and the temple expects this to rise to Rs 250 crore in 2013-14.
Other major sources of income are accommodation charges (Rs 72.5 crore in 2012-13), prasadam, donations, pujas and rituals, and interest on investments (Rs 475 crore). The Devasthanam performs rituals such as Srinivasa Kalyanams in Indian towns and overseas.
“This year, the Devasthanam has received invitations from Malaysia, Singapore, Britain, the US and Australia from NRIs to perform rituals,” a temple source said.
The Devasthanam has lent its name to a Swiss watchmaker for 333 limited-edition wristwatches, each priced at Rs 27 lakh, to spread awareness of the “divine charm of Lord Venkateswara and not for brand creation”, the source said.
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