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The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) trust board approved a budget estimate of Rs 2,937 crore for the year 2021-22 at a board meeting held on Saturday. For the previous financial year, the TTD board, which manages the affairs of the Tirumala Venkateswara temple in Andhra Pradesh, had a budget estimate of Rs 3,309.89 crore. However, amid the COVID-19 crisis, it was revised to Rs 2,653 crore, according to the Times of India.
Offerings made by devotees in the donation box or temple hundi are usually the biggest source of income for the TTD, apart from the sale of laddus, darshan tickets, revenue from renting accommodation and kalyanamandapams (wedding hall), and interest on investments. The temple is also estimated to have over Rs 12,000 crore in fixed deposits in various banks.
The board has also decided to open up ‘arjitha seva’, a special paid darshan, for all devotees starting from April 14. Due to the lockdown last year, the temple was closed for more than two months before it was reopened in June. While devotees were allowed to visit the temple for darshan in limited numbers at first, arjitha sevas continued in isolation without the presence of devotees presence. According to The New Indian Express, TTD chairman YV Subba Reddy said that those who wish to participate in arjitha seva must submit a coronavirus negative report from a test performed three days prior to their visit.
Last year in December, after a gap of eight months, TTD resumed regular darshan, or visits to the deity, for people above 65, children below 10 and pregnant women.
The board also decided to construct a Venkateswara temple or a facility for pilgrims in Ayodhya, if the Ram Mandir Trust provides land for it. Earlier in December, the board had sanctioned Rs 3.92 crore towards the construction of a Padmavathi temple at Chennai, and for other additional works at the TTD temple in Hyderabad.
The board also decided that all TTD employees will receive the COVID-19 vaccine.