TTD hundi counting begins in the new Parakamani at Tirumala
TIRUMALA: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has formally launched the counting of ‘hundi’ collections in the new Parakamani building erected across the Nitya Annadanam complex on Sunday (February 5, 2023).
Vastu Homam and Gopuja were performed in the new Parakamani building before commencing the counting and accounting activity. Parakamani – the process of sorting and counting cash offered by the devotees in the ‘hundi’, would be carried out amid tight security and under the surveillance of high-resolution CCTV cameras. Hitherto it was performed on a narrow porch inside the temple.
TTD Executive Officer AV Dharma Reddy said that the building was constructed at a cost of Rs 23 crore with donations given by a Bengaluru-based donor Muralikrishna. The New Parakamani is equipped with advanced counting machines, CCTV cameras, a special truck fitted with a hydraulic lift to carry the hundis easily and other modern facilities.
This Parakamani building was inaugurated by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on September 28 last year when had attended the Brahmothsavams. Earlier, during the first bell in Tirumala temple, the Hundis from the temple was lifted through a hydraulic lift and loaded in a new truck fitted with this lift and brought to the new building with the blessings of Sri Pedda Jeeyar Swamy of Tirumala.
The TTD nets an average of more than Rs 1,000 crore by way of cash offerings deposited by the devotees into the temple hundi every year, in addition to several quintals of gold, tonnes of silver, and several kilograms of precious stones that include diamonds, rubies, and gems, besides huge amounts of coins.
The need to have a larger Parakamani was necessitated over a period of time with the number of devotees increasing and so were the hundi offerings.
