Does this video show decoration in Tirumala Balaji Temple – NO
A video showing a temple decorated with currency notes is in circulation with the claim that it shows Tirumala Balaji Temple in Andhra Pradesh has been decorated with currency notes instead of flowers
A video showing a temple decorated with currency notes is in circulation with the claim that it shows Tirumala Balaji Temple in Andhra Pradesh has been decorated with currency notes instead of flowers.
The claim is viral in both English and Hindi.
In Hindi, the claim goes as "तिरुपति बालाजी मंदिर आंध्र प्रदेश में फूलों की जगह भारतीय नोटों से हुई सजावट की अनोखी कारीगरी की झलक"
Fact Check:
The claim is FALSE.
By observing the deity carefully, it can be said that it might not belong to Tirumala Balaji, because Tirumala Balaji idol is huge compared to the idol seen in the viral video. We can also see that there is an idol of Lion in front of the main idol, with which we can also derive that the idol might not be of Tirumala Venkateswara Swamy, as the idol in Tirumala does not have any lions around it.
After extracting the keyframes from the video, when we performed reverse image search in Google, we found few links on social media where the same video was shared. The video shared on Twitter on October 14, 2021 with Title "Nellore Vasavi temple.... Decorations with 5 crores fresh notes."
In another video shared by India Ahead News on October 12, 2021, we can different version of the decoration. The title of the video states "Andhra Dussehra: Currency notes worth Rs 5 Crore used to decorate Kanyaka Parameswari Temple in Nellore on the occasion of Dussehra"
Taking the cue from here, we searched with the keywords "currency decoration in Nellore Vasavi kanyaka Parameshwari Temple". Then we got several results from Telugu local news websites.
According to the reports, Dusshera celebrations were carried out in full swing in Sri Vasavi mata Kanyaka Parameshwari temple in Nellore district.
https://www.dishadaily.com/ammavaru-decoration-with-rs-5-crore-currency-in-nellore
The diety was decorated with notes of denomination of Rs 2000, Rs 500, Rs 200, Rs 100, Rs 50 and Rs 10. Over 100 volunteers worked for several hours to decorate the temple.
However, this is not the first instance of a Temple getting decorated with Currency notes.Kanyaka Parameswari Temple in Telangana's Jogulamba Gadwal district was decorated with Currency Notes amounting to Rs 1,11,11,111. In 2017, the Temple committee had made the offering in a similar arrangement with the Currency Notes amounting Rs 3,33,33,333.
Here is another report by Andhrajyothy.com, where we can the images of decorated temple which resembles the visuals from viral video.
Therefore, the claim that the video shows decoration of the diety Balaji in Tirumala temple in Andhra Pradesh is FALSE. The video was shot in Vasavi Kanyaka Parameshwari Temple in Nellore. The temple was decorated in October 2021 on the occasion of Dasara with Rs 5 crore.
