Ram Mandir Donation Theft: Is It Time To Follow TTD’s Model?

The shocking embezzlement of donations offered by the devout to Ram Lalla has shocked the entire nation. It is logical to compare this with the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), India’s richest pilgrimage site and the mind boggling logistics implemented …not just for footfalls, but collection of donations, daily counting and how the huge coffers are like a corporate …every rupee accounted, audited and spent. Every single day, 50,000 to 70,000 pilgrims wend their way to see Lord Balaji; on special days it surpasses 100,000. With its budget of RS 5,500 crore, TTD is constantly aiming to get the best from the donations. Even as the Ram Mandir theft was unfolding, TTD was taking security to a higher level, partnering with the Institute of Chartered Accounts, for robust accounts and audit. This temple’s daily counting of cash, gold and silver ornaments is itself a protocol not many places of worship follow. S Gurumurthy, Editor of Tamil magazine Thuglak, and RSS functionary has criticised the hypocrisy of the opposition in the New Indian Express in his signed two-part article. But is this just a condemnation of the Ram Mandir Trust and its lack of control? Hindus have long suffered the partisan HR and CE grip on Hindu places of worship. Time to clean up this Augean stables and free temples from the clutches of the greedy.