BHUBANESWAR: Public contribution for construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya has crossed more than Rs 42 crore in the State. The total funds received by the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust through crowd-funding during the 43-day campaign is Rs 42,03,07,066, said Gopal Prasad Mohapatra, State secretary of the Ram Mandir Nidhi Samarpan Samiti. The donation drive known as Shri Ram Mandir Nidhi Samarpan Abhiyan was launched in the State on auspicious Makar Sankranti (January 14) and concluded on Magha Purnima (February 27). The campaign was led by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) with support of other constituents of the Sangh Parivar. The Trust had authorised VHP and the RSS for raising funds through public campaign.
As many as 58,992 volunteers and 553 sadhus were actively involved in the fund collection drive. They visited 74,95,799 families in 43,749 villages of the State during the drive, said Mohapatra. Responding to a query, Mohapatra said the online donation to the temple trust is open. One of the biggest fundraising drives in the living memory for a religious cause, the total collection till March 4 was over Rs 2,500 crore. The figure will further increase in the final tally as the computing process is still on.