Seven Hills to Seven Continents: NRIs offer to buy foreign coins worth Rs 1cr-1.5cr from Tirumala temple

India’s richest temple, Tirumala Tirupati, has received an offer from non-resident Indians to help dispose of its 60-tonne foreign coins worth Rs 1 crore to Rs 1.5 offered to Lord Venkateswara — a proposal, if accepted, will fulfil two needs with one deed. The NRIs has offered to purchase the coins as blessings of the deity, which will help keep their sacred value intact, as well as clear its stock from the temple, reports Hindustan Times.

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) receives currency notes and coins from various countries as offering. While foreign currency notes are exchanged with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for Indian rupees, there is no way to exchange coins because of their small value, said a TTD official.

The temple administration also thought of sending the coins back to the countries of origin, but the “transportation cost turned out to be more than the value of the coins", said the official.

Taking note of the situation, an organisation of Telugu NRIs, formed with Andhra Pradesh government’s support — AP Non-Resident Telugu (APNRT) Society — proposed to purchase the stock from TTD.

In talks with the publication, APNRT chairman Ravi Kumar Vemuri said these coins available with the TTD are considered sacred, as they come from the Hundi (cash chest) of the Lord.

“We thought there would be a huge demand for them from NRI Telugus, and therefore we made a proposal named ‘Seven-Hills-to-Seven-Continents’, offering TTD to send it to NRIs who ask for it,” said Vemuri.

The proposal states that small sachets of coins worth $20 will be packed with sacred cloth and market them. It will be sent to NRIs via international courier services like Garudavega. Clients will have to bear shipping charges.

The society has already posted the proposal on its website, indicating the approximate value of a $20 pack, including shipping charges, at Rs 2,000.