Tirupati temple’s demonetisation woes: Rs 4 crore in old Rs 500, 1000 notes

Mangalore Today News Network

Andra Pradesh, Mar 3 , 2017 : More than Rs four crore in demonetised currency had been offered in the hundi, Executive Officer of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which administers the ancient shrine, D Sambasiva Rao said.

 

"We have already written to the RBI and Government of India about the demonetised notes offered by devotees as fulfillment of their vows and are awaiting a reply," he said.

It is common practice for devotees of Lord Venkateswara to keep depositing cash in tiny boxes or mud pots kept in pooja rooms in their houses over a period, and then deposit it in the temple hundi whenever they undertake the pilgrimage to Tirumala.

Temple officials believe a large part of the demonetised currency notes offered in the hundi in the last two months might be those kept in the boxes at homes.

The hundi in the shrine annually nets more than Rs 1,000 crore besides gold and silver offerings, temple officials said.  The government has notified a law that makes holding of more than 10 scrapped notes punishable with a minimum fine of Rs 10,000.