The temple authorities have taken the huge amount of silver offered by devotees to Simhachalam Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy to Hyderabad to be melted and converted into bricks. 1,182.846 kg of silver received from devotees since 2019 has been sent for this process. Officials estimate that its current market value may be around Rs. 23 crore.

The temple authorities sealed the silver, which was stored in iron boxes in the temple. Later, it was taken to the Government Mint in Hyderabad in a special van amidst heavy security. The temple Executive Officer (EO), Deputy EO, other senior officials and staff went along with this van in special vehicles. 

The silver will be melted at the Hyderabad Mint and its quality and exact value will be determined. After that, the officials' initial plan is to purchase gold equivalent to that value and deposit it in the form of gold bonds in the name of Simhachalam Temple.

Meanwhile.. It seems that the Srikalahasti Devasthanam in Tirupati district is showing interest in this silver. It is reported that about 500 kg of silver is required for the silver melting work in the Srikalahasti temple and it is being tried to be purchased from Simhachalam. It seems that a proposal to value it through a public sector undertaking like MMTC and sell it directly to the Srikalahasti temple is also under consideration.

However, a final decision has not been taken on the issue of selling it to Srikalahasti. At present, the silver has been melted down and taken to Hyderabad to determine its value. Only after this process is completed, the Endowment Department will take a final decision on whether to convert the silver into gold bonds or sell it to Srikalahasti. It is a common process to melt down the gold and silver offered by devotees in major temples in the state and convert it into deposits.