Amid lockdown, offerings at temples come down to a trickle
Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service
Shimla, June 14
As deities continue to remain under lockdown in Devbhoomi, the offerings, which earlier ran into crores, have been reduced to a trickle through online transactions at the famous shrines in Una, Bilaspur and Kangra districts.
Himachal is yet to throw open temples, gurdwaras and mosques though earlier, there was a proposal to open these from June 8. However, with most District Magistrates (DMs) suggesting that the move should be kept on hold for some more time, the opening has been deferred for the time being.
A proposal to use temple offerings for fighting Covid and strengthening health infrastructure had been mooted but was dropped for fear of opposition from temple trusts.
A majority of the 34 temples are controlled by the government. The temples are flush with money, several tonnes of gold and silver, besides huge bank deposits.
Chintpurni temple in Una is the richest with cash of Rs 1.57 crore and fixed deposits of Rs 102 crore, besides gold and silver. The second richest temple is Naina Devi in Bilaspur with cash offerings of Rs 11.47 crore, fixed deposits of Rs 58.97 crore, besides gold and silver. The Baba Balaknath temple at Deot Sidh in Hamirpur is the third richest shrine.
As compared to Rs 7.08 crore offerings at the Chintpurni temple in Una district between March and June in 2019, the offerings for the period this year are merely Rs 1.06 crore. The amount was collected before the lockdown came into force on March 23. The online offerings were a mere Rs 1.59 lakh during the months last year, while for the same period this year, the amount shot up to 3.27 lakh.
Similarly, while 1.32 kg gold and 54.63 kg silver were offered during the three months last year at the shrine, this year the offerings stand at a mere 159 gm gold and 7.33 kg silver.
The situation at Naina Devi shrine in Bilaspur district is no different. The offerings for the period last year were Rs 4.12 crore while this year, these stand at a mere Rs 1.23 lakh. The online offerings for the same period last year were Rs 15.14 lakh and this year these are Rs 7.01 lakh. The gold and silver offerings during the lockdown period were nil as compared to 1.22 kg gold and 59.61 kg silver offered by pilgrims last year.
