Thiruvananthapuram: World’s richest place of worship, Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, which holds gold treasure worth Rs 1 lakh crore is struggling to meet the daily expenditure amid the lockdown over coronavirus outbreak. It is reported that as the temple remains closed for devotees, it is witnessing the worst financial crisis at present.
Earlier, the temple marked a monthly revenue of Rs 1.5 cr. But as this huge income has declined, the salary to temporary staff was limited and permanent employees faced a salary cut.
According to the temple authority, it will be difficult to meet the daily expenditure without the government’s help after the reopening of the temple. They noted that as pilgrims from outside Kerala will not be allowed to visit the temple, the revenue will not increase.
Usually, the temple garners Rs 2 cr revenue during the peak rush period. Of this, 1.25 cr will be spent on the salary of staff and pension. Rs 45 lakh will be spent on rituals and other offerings. Though devotees are not allowed inside the temple, the committee has to meet the expenditures on salary, pension and rituals.
In order to handle the financial crisis, the salary of 165 permanent employees was cut by 20 per cent. Salary of 115 temporary staff was reduced to Rs 5000.
At present, the temple holds a deposit of Rs 4 cr which is reserved at various phases. Hence, the authority expects that this fund would meet the expenditure for three months.
Executive officer V Ratheesan stated that the temple authority requested the government to increase the grant of Rs 20 lakh to Rs 2 cr.
"The government is obliged to give Rs 20 lakh to Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple as per the covenant of 1949. At present, this grant from government and grant of Rs 20 lakh from the trustee are the only source of income to meet the expenditure at the temple,” he added.
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