Minister offers Rs 45cr crown

A diamond-studded crown worth Rs 45 crore was presented by the Karnataka tourism minister and industrialist, Mr Gali Janardhan Reddy, on Thursday evening to Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala. The crown was traditionally received by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanamas chairman, Mr D.K. Adikesavulu Naidu, and executive officer, Dr K.V. Ramanachary, in front of the temple.

The celestial offering to the Lord coincided with the birthday of the tourism minister, who owns the Brahmani steels and Obulapuram mines. According to TTD officials, 30 kg of pure gold was used to prepare the crown, apart from 70,000 diamonds and 890 precious green stones. The experts have been working on the crown for the past nine months in Coimbatore.

This diamond-studded gold crown is the largest among the crowns presented to the deity. It is the eighth crown to be presented to the deity. Though the temple priests said the crown would be adorned on Friday, the TTD officials are yet to confirm it.