No one would have ever imagined that Tirupathi, the world’s richest Hindu temple, will have more than 9,000 kilogram of gold reserves. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) has revealed that the Tirupati has 9,259 kg of pure gold reserves that has been deposited in various banks.
The TTD officials said that 5,387 kg of pure gold has been deposited with the State bank of India, 1,938 kg gold with the Indian Overseas bank. Besides, they have 1,934 kg of gold in the treasury and also 553 kg of gold in jewellery.
The TTD has never revealed the deposits that they have but they were forced to reveal the reserves after 1,381 kg of gold was seized last month by the election officials in Chennai. The gold was being transported to the temple treasury from the Punjab National Bank where it was deposited. The gold was being returned as the scheme in which it was deposited had matured.
The seizure of 1,381 kg of gold had raised a controversy as the TTD authorities first denied that the yellow metal belonged to them. It was alleged that the temple authorities were unaware that their gold was being transported, which made them explain that the gold can be called theirs only after it reaches their hands.
The gold has now reached the temple treasury after the Punjab National Bank submitted all relevant documents to prove that the gold belonged to the TTD. The Devasthanam has been depositing its gold reserves with various banks for the last two decades.
Tirupati temple attracts about a lakh pilgrim each day and the numbers go up on special occasions. It has been said that the temple gets around Rs 1,200 crore as Hundi collections every year.
