Tirupati Temple in the hilly town of Tirumala had opened doors to its pilgrims on June 11 after the coronavirus lockdown. Reportedly, the temple had received cash donations of nearly ₹6 crores in the first two weeks after reopening. And on September 5, as many as 13,486 devotees visited the shrine, raising, its hundi income to ₹1.02 crores in a single day. For the first time after lockdown, the temple collected such a huge amount from the devotees in one day. Read on to know more.
Tirupati Temple Collects ₹1 Crore From 13,486 Devotees In One Day
According to reports, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) has said that the temple received around 13,486 devotees on Saturday and counted their offerings on Sunday. Tirupati temple, which is one of the richest temples in the world, had faced the worst financial crisis in decades amid the coronavirus pandemic.
According to YV Subba Reddy, TTD Chairman, the shrine earns around ₹200 to ₹220 crore every month through the sale of darshan tickets, prasadams, accommodation, etc. However, since the closure of the temple in March, its donation box collections have suffered a loss of ₹150 to ₹175 crores. Reportedly, the temple was left with no money to meet its daily expenditures. It also became difficult for the authorities to pay the salaries of around 23,000 employees. Now, after reopening, the shrine is finally recovering from the losses.
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The Temple Offered Ghee Laddus At Half Prices To The Devotees During Lockdown
While the temple remained shut during the coronavirus lockdown, the temple authorities had offered Tirupati-special ghee laddoos to Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. The price of one Tirupati laddu is generally ₹50. During the lockdown, the temple was offering the laddoos at a subsidized price of ₹25 as a token of gift to the devotees. Ever since the coronavirus lockdown, devotees had repeatedly requested the temple to make the laddoos available in shrine headquarters of Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and all district headquarters of Andhra Pradesh.
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Earlier, the Tirupati shrine had witnessed a single-day cash collection of ₹6.28 crore in July 2018. On April 1, 2012, the cash collection was as high as ₹5.73 crores. After lockdown, the cash collection of ₹1.02 crore was the highest temple earning in a single day. Meanwhile, here are 10 unusual temples in India you probably didn’t know about: