Coins worth crores of rupees, offered by pilgrims as ‘kanikka’ at the Sabrimala Ayyappa temple, have reportedly been left uncounted at the vault (bhandaram) at the Sannidhanam sans adequate security.
The bhandaram special officer is duty-bound to ensure that the currency and coins reaching the vault are sorted, counted and deposited in a bank the same day itself.
Retaining minimum staff of the Travancore Devaswom Board at the Sannidhanam, a majority of the police personnel and employees of other departments are relieved of their duty from the temple precincts once the Makaravilakku festival concludes, and chances of embezzlement and burglary cannot be ruled out, sources said.
The board stands to lose a substantial sum as interest too. As per the estimates prepared on January 17 on the basis of the collection report prepared on the 18th day of the festival, the collection through ‘kanikka’ (offering as money) has been pegged at ₹26,78,52,675. The collection during the corresponding period last year was ₹30,67,72,400. The total collection is expected to increase by 10 per cent every year.
The dip in returns by ₹3,89,19,725, as per the latest estimates, points to the chinks in the counting and accounting process, sources said.
Coins stocked in many gunny bags have not yet been counted, hence the real returns could not be ascertained.
Instances of swindling and smuggling of foreign currency from the counting vault in full security glare have been reported many times earlier. Scores of employees are deployed at the vault for sorting and counting of coins and currency, but the counting of coins has not been completed.
The board proceedings that detail the responsibilities of the special officers deployed for various tasks say that the Bhandaram Special Officer should take steps to ensure that those deployed on duty for counting and sorting are efficiently performing their tasks and should close the accounts everyday.
The alleged laxity in complying with the proceedings at Sabarimala may set a wrong precedent and if other temples also decide to sort and count the collection at their convenience, the board would sustain heavy loss and also set the ground for corruption and other malpractices, sources said.
When contacted, TDB secretary V.S. Jayakumar also confirmed that the coins have been kept at Sannidanam and said that it would be counted and deposited only in due course. Unlike during the previous seasons, the temple received more coins owing to demonetisation of high value currency and hence the counting could not be completed in time, he said.
