The fixed deposits put in several banks by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), that governs the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala, has crossed Rs 12,000 crore mark, a temple official said. The deposits made with several nationalised and private banks by TTD has crossed the Rs 12,000 crore mark with an annual estimated interest of about Rs 845 crore, he told PTI here on Tuesday.

The temple official said the over 2,000-year-old Lord Venkateswara temple was growing richer by the year with an annual income of about Rs 31 billion with the devotee footfall of about 25 million from all over the world.

TTD has about 8.7 tonnes of pure gold, besides nearly 550 kg of gold jewellery set with stones offered by devotees in the Hundi at the hill shrine, he said. The gold jewellery would also be converted into pure gold sooner or later, the official said.

Of the total 8.7 tonnes of gold, 1,938 kg is with the Indian Overseas Bank as deposits and 5,387 kg with the State Bank of India, while 1,381 kg came back to the TTD treasury recently from the Punjab National Bank after the end of the deposit period.

The main deity of Lord Venkateswara and its associated centuries old processional idols at the hill temple have a large number of antique and highly valuable ornaments that would forever remain at the shrine itself, the official added.

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