Author: Times News Network
Publication: The Times of India
Date: September 10, 2003
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams
is expected to earn Rs 20 crore, roughly four per cent of the total TTD
income, through the sale of human hair this year.
TTD marketing officer G. Surendra
Babu told TNN that human hair had been classified into five varieties depending
on its quality. The first quality called 'Remi', popularly known as 'Black
Gold', is over 16 inches and costs about Rs 7,000 a kg. The second category
costs around Rs 1,800 a kg and is less than 16 inches while the third category
hair is less than eight inches and fetches Rs 20 a kg (largely not suitable
for export). The other category - grey hair-fetches around Rs 6,300 per
kg while the last category of 'Hundi' hair sells at Rs 300 a kg.
The temple administration, in its
two auctions held so far this year, has earned about Rs 12 crore through
the sale of hair. The revenue is likely to increase in the forthcoming
auction scheduled for September 17.
About 5,000 kg; 24,150 kg; 20,040
kg; 100 kg and 150 kg of human hair in the respective categories have been
put up for auction and tenders have already been called for. Nearly eight
to ten dealers from Banglore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata will take
part in the auction. "We have set up 14 steel storage containers to preserve
the hair and take necessary precautions to store male and female hair separately,"
the marketing officer said.
Keeping in mind the demand for hair
in the global market, the marketing department of TTD is planning to get
in touch with the suppliers of global wig manufacturers for suitable supply-demand
statistics. The US, the UK, Indonesia and Malaysia are the chief importers
of hair.