243 barbers sacked by Tirupati temple trust for receiving tips from patrons

Barbers from Andhra Pradesh’s Tirumala temple have staged protests demanding they be reinstated after the temple authorities sacked them for receiving tips from pilgrims, Hindustan Times reported on Saturday.

The report said that over 243 barbers were sacked through notices issued by the temple authorities. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) manages India’s richest temple in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district.

On Saturday, the barbers staged a demonstration in front of the administrative office of the TTD, demanding that they be re-instated on humanitarian grounds as the sacking would deprive them of their livelihood.

As many as 943 barbers, mostly recruited on contract basis, work in shifts round the clock at Kalyana Katta, the huge hair-cutting saloon complex located near the temple.

While tonsuring has to be done free of cost, the TTD has been receiving complaints from pilgrims that many of the barbers making them pay tips ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 50.