Hyderabad: The famed 150-year-old Peddamma temple in Jubilee Hills is the richest in the city, with an income of Rs 6 crore so far followed by the Renuka Yellamma temple at Balkampet and the Ganesh temple near Secunderabad railway station with Rs 4 crore.
Of the 4,000 temples in the twin cities, 771 in Hyderabad and 284 in Secunderabad are registered with the endowments department.
“Over the years, temple incomes have gone up. Bhakti is certainly growing among the people” said Mr Ashok Goud, assistant commissioner, Hyderabad, of the endowments department.
He said that the department has not yet assessed the income from all temples in the twin cities. The numbers will be added up in April. “But I can safely say it will be on par or even more than the GHMC budget,” Mr Goud said. The GHMC budget stands at about Rsw 5,000 crore. Most of the revenue comes from the hundi collection, followed by the sale of tickets for various sevas and prasadams.
“Recently, a devotee dropped Rs 10 lakh in the hundi of the Venkateswara Swamy temple at Chikkadpally. There are several devotees who contribute huge amounts to temples,” he said.
