LUCKNOW: The Ayodhya Ram temple trust has received more than Rs 1,500 crore as donations in the first 27 days.
The drive to collect Samarpan Nidhi was launched on January 15 and so far, Rs 1,511 crore has been collected, said Swami Govind Dev Giri, treasurer of Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
To collect the funds, the VHP and RSS had set up over 150 teams of volunteers. They have been collecting funds through the receipt coupons of Rs 10, Rs 100, and Rs 1,000 printed by the temple trust.
As per Swami Govind Dev Giri, people from all communities and age generously donated to the fundraising campaign. “Children have donated from their piggy banks and people such as labourers, beggars, vendors, rickshaw pullers have made the donations to the best of their capability. From east to west and north to south, people of all castes, creed, and religion have made donations,” said Swami Govind Dev Giri.
He added that the Samarpan Nidhi was being deposited in the temple trust accounts at State Bank Of India, Bank of Baroda, and Punjab National Bank, by over 37,000 volunteers deputed as depositors. “The activists are bringing the donations collected from remote villages and depositing the same in the trust's bank accounts. The trust had got over 13 crore coupons of Rs 10, Rs 100 and Rs 1,000 printed before commencing the drive. But the coupons have exhausted in many states,” said Swami Govind Dev Giri.
New coupons are being printed. New coupons were also printed during the drive at a few cities including Mumbai and Hyderabad. “People from north-eastern states including Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim have also participated in the drive and have come forward to donate large sums,” said Dev Giri.
The fundraising drive would end on February 27. After that, people can deposit the donation money in trust-authorized accounts in three nationalized banks including State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, and Punjab National.
Meanwhile, trust general secretary Champat Rai said so far the foundation for the temple had been dug five-meter deep. The 16 ft deep debris was removed from the level of sanctum sanctorum where PM Narendra Modi had performed Bhoomi Pujan on August 5, 2020, he added.