Rajahmundry: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams’ (TTD) move to melt huge quantum of foreign coins made of gold, silver, brass, copper, other metals and silver articles, donated by both local and foreign donors to Lord Venkateswara, to convert them as bars and secure them in bank lockers has been drawing flak from the devotees and historians.
The TTD authorities wrote a letter to the department of archaeology and museums recently, asking it to carry out a verification and assessment of antiques — 52 tonnes of foreign coins and nearly 10,880 kg of silver articles — received from donors at Srivari Hundi over a period of time so that th-ey can be exempted from getting melted and to preserve it.
Accordingly, the department deputed a team of four assistant directors from Vijayawada, Visakh-apatnam, Tirupati and three technical assistants from Tirupati, Kurnool and Rajahmundry headed by its commissioner Dr G. Vani Mohan to carry out the said task at TTD treasury from October 29 to November 3.
The department authorities have sent a communication to the executive officer of the TTD to make necessary arrangements for taking up verification and assessment of foreign coins and silver articles on Saturday.
The historians and devotees raised objection to the routine practice of the TTD to melt the coins and articles of precious metals, having no antiquity value, for converting them as bars, in order to secure them in bank lockers. They instead advised the TTD authorities to place the coins and articles for public display in a phased manner and allow the devotees to purchase them by fixing some cost higher than the market value so that it will help the devotees to own them up as they were gifted to their Lord and feel proud of their possession.
They said that devotees feel sentimental to own up the articles presented to Lord Venkateswara, by the donors, by purchasing them even at a higher cost with an expectation that good things will happen in their lives. They wondered how much the TTD will benefit once the coins and articles get melted and converted as bars of metals.
A devotee of Lord Venkateswara, K. Srinivasa Rao, said: “The is having a huge amount of wealth as devotees from all over the world donate cash and articles made of platinum, gold, silver and others. We wonder as to why the TTD intends to melt down the foreign coins and articles made with precious metals just to convert them as bars of metals. This practice should be stopped and the TTD should allow the devotees to purchase and keep them in their possession, anticipating good things to happen in their lives.”
