TIRUMALA: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is contemplating to install a coin-sorting machine at Parakamani where currency offered by the devotees is counted.The decision has been taken in view of the high expenditure involved in manual sorting and counting of coins.The machines would segregate the coins based on the density of the material or the magnetic property of the metal used in it.The proposal follows a two-day audit of Parkamani by a team of officials headed by Tirumala joint executive officer K Srinivasa Raju.The audit team has recommended to the TTD to reduce the manpower being deployed at Parkamani and mechanise the system.Last year, the hundi collections amounted to `675 crore out of the total revenue of Rs 1,275 crore.This year the TTD estimates that the earnings from the hundi would go up to `750 crore.On an average, 40 persons are deployed at the Parakamani every day to segregate and count the coins donated by devotees in the hundi of the Srivari temple on Tirumala.The officials found that the TTD has been spending about Rs 10 lakh every month on the Parakamani staff for payment of salaries.“Economically, it does not make sense.We cannot spend Rs 10 lakh every month to segregate Rs 10 lakh worth coins every day,” TTD financial advisor and chief accounts officer L Bhaskar Reddy told Express.The TTD has instructed one of its appraiser of the Parakamani to draft a detailed report on the coins that are offered by the devotees including the metal used, the size and shape, among others.This report would be given to the engineering officials to design a customised coin-segregation machine.The TTD is also planning to consult instrumentation engineers for designing and supplying the required machines.Several TTD officials would be trained in coin and currency counting and also on the operation of the counting machines
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