Ram Mandir Received Rs 3.2 Crore Donations on First Day
Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir received ?3.2 crore through online donations, an 80-kg brass & gold sword & large amount of groceries on the day of ‘pran prathista’ on 22 January 2024 and was visited by more tha
The excitement that we saw for the inauguration of Shri Ram Mandir across the world hasn’t faded. If anything it has turned into love & devotion for Shri Ram Lalla. So much so that Ram Mandir received over ?3.2 crore through online donations on the day of ‘pran prathista’ on 22nd January 2024. These donations came into the trust's bank accounts from devotees from India and abroad. This ?3.2 crore is just the total of the online donations. Rest of the donations that came in the form of cash, cheques and drafts in 10 donation boxes set up at the temple are yet to be added. Similar grand display of love & devotion for Shri Ram Lalla was also witnessed after the Supreme Court’s landmark verdict in 2019 when a whopping ?2,500 crore was donated by over 10 crore people in just 45 days to build the Ram Mandir. One of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust’s trustees, Mr. Anil Mishra said, "The cash collected in the donation boxes has been sent to a nearby SBI branch..." According to some media sources, Shri Ram Mandir also received heavy donations in the form of food grains like Wheat flour, rice, lentils, sugar, jaggery, ghee, and refined oil etc. filling the store rooms of the temple. Apart from this, a 7ft long & 3ft wide 80-kg brass & gold sword named "Nandak" was also brought from Mumbai and gifted to the trust on 24th January 2024. The sword was donated by Mr. Nilesh Arun. He manufactures replicas of ancient weapons and his ancestors are believed to have manufactured weapons for Chhatrapati Shivaji's army. Revealing the donation protocol, Trustee Mishra said that the physical donations made in the week will be counted every Monday. Trustree Mishra also revealed that more than 5 lakh devotees visited the Ram Mandir after it was opened to the public on 23rd January 2024. Braving through severe cold in dense fog, devotees stood in long queues around Ram Path which is the main thoroughfare and the temple premises since early morning. In the wake of such an overwhelming response of devotees, many initiatives have been taken. The darshan timings have been temporarily extended so that the maximum number of devotees can be accommodated. Devotees can now offer prayers between 6 am and 10 pm as against the earlier timings of 7 am to 11.30 am and 2 pm to 7 pm. The Rapid Action Force (RAF) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been deployed outside the temple premises to ensure the safety & security of the devotees. Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) buses as well as trains coming into Ayodhya have also been canceled to control the overflowing crowds of devotees. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has advised VIPs to postpone their visit and/or inform the state government or the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust about their visits a week before scheduling them. CM Adityanath has also asked officials to ensure the availability of drinking water at different locations for the devotees standing in queues and arrangement of wheelchairs for the elderly and disabled. He also ordered to make provisions for bonfires and to lay out jute mats taking the severe cold weather into consideration.
