Ram Temple counting team quits
More than half of the staff who count donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya resigned on Friday. This comes after stricter security measures and a heavier workload were implemented due to an ongoing Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into alleged embezzlement of temple donations.
The exodus has slashed the counting team from around 40 to barely a dozen personnel, sources said on Friday. Trust sources revealed that attendance at the donation counting centre had already fallen sharply after the case came to light. Only 15-20 of the original staff were reporting for duty regularly, driven by apprehension over the investigation.
About 20 to 23 employees have now officially resigned, leaving only 12 or 13 staff members. Those who quit listed several complaints. They said that counting donations now takes much longer since the alleged problems came to light. What used to be done in two shifts is now handled in a single shift lasting 9 to 10 hours a day, but pay has not increased.
Staff also said they now have to count money on the floor rather than at tables and chairs, making the work more physically demanding.
Security at the centre has become much stricter. Staff are now frisked several times before entering, must go in barefoot, and cannot bring mobile phones or personal items inside. These changes are part of efforts to fix problems found during the investigation.
The staff submitted their resignations, along with a memorandum, to the SBI Tulsi Udyan branch, which oversees the counting process, and to the security agency. Their demands for addressing workload and compensation issues went unanswered, sources added.
The large number of resignations has caused immediate problems for the Trust, which runs one of India’s busiest religious sites. Daily donations from people across India and abroad are vital for the temple’s upkeep and activities. With fewer staff, counting the large number of offerings, which now include more small-denomination notes, has become much slower.
The Trust is likely to start hiring new staff soon. However, new hires will undergo strict background checks implemented after the recent problems. The Trust will also discuss bigger changes to how donations, security, and darshan are managed at a meeting on July 22. The Supreme Court will hear related petitions on July 13 that call for further investigations into how donations are handled.
