The Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple at Tirumala amassed a staggering hundi collection of Rs 40.20 crore during the 10-day Vaikunta Ekadasi festival, culminating on New Year’s Day.
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) executive officer, A.V. Dharma Reddy, revealed in a press briefing that this year’s hundi collection surpassed the previous year’s figures by a noteworthy margin of 80 lakhs. Last year’s Vaikunta Ekadasi witnessed a collection of Rs 39.4 crore.
Not only did the financial contributions soar, but the footfall of devotees also experienced a marginal rise. Approximately 6.47 lakh pilgrims graced the hill temple during the 10-day festival, in contrast to the 6.09 lakh visitors recorded last year.
Dharma Reddy clarified that, despite issuing 7.76 lakh darshan tokens under various categories, a minor percentage of devotees, constituting 9.7%, did not avail themselves of the opportunity. Ultimately, 6.47 lakh devotees participated in the sacred rituals and worship at the hill temple during the festival period.
The categories under which devotees received darshan included VIP break darshan, VIP break darshan for donors, Srivani trust donors, special entry darshan, slotted sarva darshan, Supadham entry, TTD employees’ relatives and friends, Arjitha sevas, and others. The distribution among these categories showcased the diverse range of devotees attending the festivities.
Expressing appreciation for the recently adopted slot token system, the executive officer highlighted its effectiveness in regulating crowds. The streamlined process enabled most devotees to complete darshan formalities within two hours, even amid the high festival attendance. He also noted a notable increase in the number of devotees partaking in anna prasadams during the 10-day period.
Remarkably, the Tirumala temple has maintained a consistent record of hundi collections throughout 2023. The cumulative hundi donations surpassed 1,398 crores, marking 22 consecutive months with collections exceeding 100 crores. The highest monthly collection reached 129 crores in July, while the lowest was recorded at 108 crores in November.
As per statistics, over 2.62 crore devotees had darshan of Lord Venkateswara last year.