Mass exodus from Ram Mandir donation team; staff allege salary cuts, long hours
Nearly two dozen employees responsible for counting donations at the Ram Temple have resigned en masse amid the ongoing probe into the irregularities in the
Nearly two dozen employees responsible for counting donations at the Ram Temple have resigned en masse amid the ongoing probe into the irregularities in the temple's donation management, as the Trust prepares wide-ranging reforms to the shrine's administration, security and darshan systems. According to sources, around two dozen donation-counting employees quit their jobs after alleging longer working hours, salary cuts and reduced leaves. Read Full Story The employees claimed that work earlier carried out in two shifts has now been consolidated into a single shift, increasing duty hours from six to nine hours. They also alleged that their monthly salaries had been reduced, with different employees receiving different wages despite performing similar work. They further claimed that the number of monthly leave days had been curtailed. The mass resignations come as a Special Investigation Team (SIT) continues its investigation of the donation theft case, which has already led to multiple arrests and the resignation of senior trust office-bearers. Following the resignations, only about a dozen counting staff reported for duty on Thursday.
After completing their shift on Wednesday evening, the employees staged a collective protest and submitted a memorandum along with their resignations to the SBI Tulsi Udyan branch, which oversees the donation counting process, and the concerned security agency. The employees said they stopped work after their demands were not addressed. According to the sources, the process of recruiting new counting staff will begin shortly, although fresh appointments could take time due to stricter verification procedures introduced after the donation theft case surfaced. Sources also said that the investigators have found that digital IDs issued to trustees and senior office-bearers for recommending devotees for VIP darshan were allegedly misused to generate passes indiscriminately. The investigators found that one of the arrested accused, Tinnu Yadav, exploited the system to generate hundreds of unauthorised VIP darshan passes. Sources further claimed that some close associates of trust members Champat Rai and Anil Mishra are also under the scanner for allegedly operating a racket that issued VIP passes in exchange for money.
The controversy first erupted in early June after irregularities were detected in the counting of temple donations. Acting on the trust's recommendation, the Uttar Pradesh government constituted an SIT, which later found prima facie evidence of embezzlement. An FIR was subsequently registered and eight persons associated with the donation-counting process were arrested. TRUST TO REVAMP RAM TEMPLE MANAGEMENT, DONATION SECURITY Meanwhile, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust will implement sweeping reforms after July 22, revamping the temple's darshan system, rituals, donation management, security, crowd control and devotee facilities. Sources said the Trust is consulting saints and scholars of the Ramanandi tradition to make the new arrangements more transparent, organised and devotee-friendly. A Trust meeting scheduled for July 22 is expected to finalise the reforms and may also decide on the appointment of a new General Secretary and fill vacant positions within the Trust. The Trust aims to make the donation handling more transparent and make the temple's administration more accountable.
The BriefWire