TIRUPATI: Finally, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which administers the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara, has found a way to clear the coins of foreign origin that had piled up with it over years. The temple as of now has around 45 tonnes of foreign coins and of them around 18 tonnes belong to Malaysia. If the TTD has to bear the transportation cost of these coins back to Malaysia, the cost will be more than the face value of the coins, the TTD officials observed. 
For years, efforts to get the temple treasury cleared of those coins had failed to yield any results. Now, the temple administration under Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal, has come up with a solution. The TTD decided to take the help of Tamilians settled in Malaysia for the disposal of coins with it. Those devotees will be given the coins through a bank in Chennai.
The TTD Executive Officer said that they have obtained permission from the Central Government to clear the coins of foreign origin with it. “They will be exchanged with banks in 15 days time. We are also holding talks with the Reserve Bank of India for exchange of 25 paise coins that got accumulated in large quantity with the TTD through Hundi offerings,” he said.
