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It’s business as usual at Tirumala. The government’s demonetisation has not changed things much, according to D Sambasiva Rao, Executive Officer, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).
The offerings in the hundi are no different from what they were pre-demonetisation. Pilgrims generally drop anything in the hundi as it is anonymous and the same is applicable now too, Rao told BusinessLine . The daily hundi collections in Tirumala are in the range of ₹2.5-3.4 crore, with abut 70,000 pilgrims visiting the temple town every day.
On TTD’s policy on demonetised notes, the official said like any other institution it will follow RBI guidelines. “There is nothing to sensationalise in this,” he pointed out
According to RBI guidelines, all withdrawn notes can be deposited in banks up to December 30, after which the RBI will continue to accept them till March 31, 2017.
It remains to be seen what religious establishments like TTD will do if these notes continue to be offered by pilgrims after the deadline.
According to Ramana Dikshitulu, Head Priest, Tirumala, the currency crunch has had no impact on poojas and rituals which are conducted at the requests of the devotees ( Arjitham ).
In 2015-16, TTD had collections of ₹2,621 crore from various sources and has projected ₹2,678 crore for 2016-17.
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