Despite many curbs induced by the COVID-19 pandemic in year 2021, the ancient hill-shrine of Lord Sri Venkateswara at Tirumala, near Tirupati, saw over 10 million devotees from across the country and abroad visiting the abode of the Lord, a temple official said.
During the pre-pandemic days till 2019, about 25 million devotees used to throng the over two millennia-old shrine. After the coronavirus struck, the rush has considerably come down, the official told news agency PTI.
In 2021, the hundi (offering box) netted a total cash of about Rs 833 crore apart from gold and other precious offerings while the temple fetched Rs 300 crore through sale of laddus, he said, adding that 48.75 lakh devotees got tonsured after fulfilment of vows.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Tirupati's ISKCON Temple Gets Bomb Threat, 4th Hoax Mail In 3 Days Pawan Kalyan Renounces 11-Day Penance At Tirumala Temple Supreme Court To Hear Petitions Seeking Probe Into Row Over Tirupati Laddoos Trump Hints At Constitution-Breaking 3rd Term As President. Details Here Major Social Media Crackdown In Andhra, 100 Cases Filed, 39 Arrested Trump Tracker: Ex-Democrat Tulsi Gabbard Appointed US Intelligence Chief Baba Siddique Shooter Waited Near Hospital For 30 Minutes To Confirm Death Major Social Media Crackdown In Andhra, 100 Cases Filed, 39 Arrested UK-Based Russian Chef Who Criticised Putin Found Dead In Serbia Hotel Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.