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TIRUPATI, ANDRA PRADESH, INDAI, May 31, 2012 (Wall Street Journal): Patheti Srinivasarao deals with 900 kilograms of human hair a day. He is in charge of the collection, categorization and sale of hair shaved from the heads of pilgrims at Sri Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh. At the start of June, Mr. Srinivasarao, who is an engineer by training, will oversee a third e-auction of tresses. He expects it will raise millions of rupees for the temple thanks to huge international demand for Indian hair, which is used to make wigs and hair extensions. May and June are the busiest time for the practice of tonsuring, in which pilgrims offer their hair as a sacrifice to Lord Venkateswara, a form of the Hindu God Vishnu, Mr. Srinivasarao says.

The TTD says revenue from the sale of hair generated 200 million rupees (US$3.6 million) last financial year, up from 54 million rupees the previous year. Mr. Srinivasarao attributes the increase to the introduction of the e-auction, which has replaced traditional open bidding. Hair has been sold via auctions for the last 20 years, according to Mr. Srinivasarao. The TTD cancelled four conventional auctions in 2011 because it suspected bidders were forming a “ring” and collaborating on prices, meaning the reserve or upset price set by the temple was not reached. The bids are now secret, so that those putting in tenders do not know who else is in the running and cannot conspire to keep bids low. “This method gets more revenue, it’s more transparent, more competitive and the ring formation is avoided,” says Mr. Srinivasarao, who has worked at the temple for 25 years.

Indian hair is in high demand for wig making and hair extensions because it is both “thin and strong,” explains Chennai-based Curlsnwaves, one of the country’s largest exporters of hair. The company also processes hair, stripping it of color and re-dying it.