Vaishno Devi Shrine received demonetised notes worth Rs 40 lakh in last 2 years

mangaloretoday network

Jammu, Jan 03, 2019 : A holy shrine of Shri Vaishno Mata Devi in Raesi district of Jammu and Kashmir received Rs 40 lakh in demonetised currency notes in the last two years. After Prime Minister Narender Modi banned the old currency, pilgrims donated Rs 1.90 crore in banned currency notes between November 9, 2016, and December 31, 2016, reported Hindustan Times. However, the donation in demonetised notes decreased after December 31 that year. In the last two years, only Rs 40 Lakh in banned currency notes were denoted by devotees. Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Announces Free Rs 5 Lakh Insurance Cover for Pilgrims Visiting for Darshan, Yahoonews reported.

 

"There is no dip in the offerings. Instead, the trend is encouraging, but yes some devotees still offer demonetised currency. This figure of such demonetised currency has reached Rs 40 lakh,” Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board’s (SMVDSB’s), reported the Hindustan Times quoting chief executive officer Simrandeep Singh as saying. Meanwhile, demonetisation and goods and service tax (GST) had no impact on the donations received by the shrine board.

According to the report, devotees offered Rs 164 crore at the shrine’s sanctum sanctorum in 2018, out of which, Rs 1 crore was donated on December 31, 2018, and January 1, 2019. Meanwhile, from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2017, a total of Rs 154 crore were donated to the shrine. Immediately, after November 8, 2016, the shrine board had set up swipe machines to facilitate cashless donations.