The world’s richest Hindu shrine has been hit hard by demonetisation, says the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which manages Lord Venkateswara temple in Andhra Pradesh.
The cash-rich temple recorded a revenue fall of Rs 50 crore in 2017 as compared to previous year despite an increase in the footfall of pilgrims.
The legend is that the cash offered by the devotees at the temple located atop Tirumala hills is being used by Lord Venkateswara to pay interest to the loan he had taken from Kubera, the god of wealth.
The money is collected in a hundi, a cylinder shaped cash chest placed on the northern side of the inner temple complex.
As per TTD records, the number of visitors in 2017 increased by about 7,00,000 from 26 million recorded in 2016. But it did not get reflected in the cash flow. The cash collection dipped by 50.39 crore to Rs 995.89 crore in 2017.