Largest gold donation at Tirupati temple

Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh): A devotee of Lord Venkateswara on Tuesday donated gold puja items worth Rs. 1.5 crore to Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanam, the country’s richest temple complex.

Balbir Singh Uppal, a Chandigarh-based industrialist, went for a darshan of Lord Venkateswara during the VIP break and soon after handed over seven pieces of puja items made of gold to TTD deputy executive officer G Balaramaiah.

The donation was believed to be made in fulfillment of a vow made earlier.

The seven-piece ensemble comprised gold sankanidhi, gold padmanidhi, gold eka harathi, dhoopa harathi, gold nakshatra harathi, and gold sankham.

"In terms of gold, this could be the biggest one-time contribution by any devotee," TTD Chairman B Karunakar Reddy said and pointed out that these items would be used during the daily rituals of the Lord.

Two days earlier, a Bangalore-based businessman K Surya Rao donated Rs 1 crore to the TTD, with a request that Rs 50 lakh each be spent on Annadanam and Pranadanam schemes.

While TTD provides free meals to 10,000 pilgrims’ everyday through the Annadanam Trust, the Pranadanam Trust provides free medical care to poor people suffering from life-threatening diseases related to heart, kidney and brain, which involve expensive treatment.

Source: http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/jul/03tirupati.htm

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