There is a sharp fall in the collection of gold and silver at the main temples in India in the last six months, according to a report published by the Economic Times.

The report says there has been a 10 per cent drop in Gold offerings by devotees at the temples of Lord Balaji in Tirumala, Lord Krishna temple in Guruvayur, Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple at Thiruvananthapuram and the Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai.

The sharp drop of 10 per cent in the gold offerings by the devotees is in tune with the sharp rise of gold price by nearly 11 per cent in the last six months.

Lord Balaji temple at Tirumala receives not less than 80 to 100 kg of gold and 100 to 120 kg of silver every month through Hunhi offerings. “But because of the rise in gold and sliver prices, there has been a drop of 10 per cent in the last six months,” said the ET report quoting Bhaskara Reddy, the Financial Advisor and Chief Accounts Officer of the TTD.

The report said the famous Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai has started receiving less gold and more money through offerings. “The surge in cash offerings is more than 25 per cent,” said the report.

Authorities of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple at Thiruvananthapuram said there has been a sharp fall in the gold offerings in the last six months. “Even the royal family of Travancore stopped gold offerings,” the report said quoting the temple EO VK Harikumar. (JUBS)