• Source:JND
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Tirupati Dupatta Scam: After the laddu scam at the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) temple in Andhra Pradesh, another major controversy has come to light. The temple trust has now alleged that the sacred silk scarves distributed to devotees and donors between 2015 and 2025 were made entirely of polyester.

The revelation adds to a growing list of controversies surrounding the Tirumala temple. Alongside the laddu controversy and the Parakamani theft case, the trust has accused a firm supplying silk dupattas of defrauding it of crores over the past decade.

Fraud In Crores

According to the rules, every dupatta was required to be made of pure mulberry silk and have a silk hologram, but the supplier committed a fraud in crores by substituting cheaper polyester. Instead of pure mulberry silk, the firm sold 100 per cent polyester dupattas to the TTD from 2015 to 2025, The Times Of India reported.

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The board, headed by TTD Chairman BR Naidu, has referred the matter to the Andhra Pradesh Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). Samples were taken from the warehouse and temple premises for examination of the dupattas. Testing was then conducted at the Central Silk Board labs in Bengaluru and Dharmavaram. Both reports confirmed that all the dupattas were polyester.

15,000 New Dupatta Contracts Put On Hold

According to The Times of India, dupatta supplier VRS Exports of Nagari was recently awarded a new contract for 15,000 more dupattas. Now, that contract has also been put on hold. The board has handed over the investigation to the Anti-Corruption Bureau to identify those behind the alleged fraud.

During VIP darshan inside the Tirumala temple, silk scarves are presented to TTD donors and other devotees during the Vedasirvachanam at the Ranganayakula Mandapam.

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What Is The Standard For A Dupatta?

According to temple rules, dupattas must be woven entirely from pure mulberry silk using 20/22 denier thread in both warp and weft, with a minimum thickness of 31.5 denier. Each item must have the inscription "Om Namo Venkatesaya" in Sanskrit on one side and "Om Namo Venkatesaya" in Telugu on the other, along with symbols of the Shanku, Chakra, and Namam.

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