After God, now technology is also becoming omnipresent. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) will soon leverage the power of the Internet to sell hair collected from tonsured devotees.
TTD has sought the help of online auctioneer Matex Net Pvt Ltd to sell 80 tonne of hair worth Rs 60 crore, accumulated between May and October this year. After Tirupati, other temple boards including those of Samayapuram and Palani. with a similar tradition of tonsuring, have also shown an interest in using the online platform to sell collected hair, a company official said.
According to the TTD website, on an average, at least 50,000 devotees visit the main temple. The hair collected from the tonsuring centre is reportedly separated into five different varieties.
S Yogeshwaran, director, Matex Net, said, ?Though the sale of hair has been in practice for a long time, the online platform helped discover new customers who are ready to pay a higher price. The on-line auction process is also much more transparent.?
The online auction is scheduled for the first week of December. Of the 18 bidders who have expressed interest so far, four are from overseas, Yogeshwaran said. Though a small percentage of the hair from the temples is used to make wigs and artificial extensions, a majority of it is used to derive amino acids, he added.
Matex Net is an online B2B auctioneer. It sets up online platforms for companies to auction surplus inventory, used goods and non-performing assets. It has over 400 corporate clients, including State Bank of India, L&T, Bhel and Punjab National Bank.
For the six months ended September 31, 2007, the company has auctioned goods worth Rs 1,100 crore. It is present across 28 locations in the country and soon plans set up shop in in Singapore.