VHP starts fund collection for Ram temple at Ayodhya

ALLAHABAD : After its fortnight Ram Mahotsav during which Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) mobilised people’s support for the construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya, the parishad has started collecting funds for not only organising nationwide programmes on the temple issue but also for its construction.

The membership drive of the VHP is also going on to enhance its base. Besides, it is holding district level meetings all over the country to enlist people’s support for construction of Ram temple. The special fund collection month-long drive named ‘Dharam Raksha Arpan Nidhi’ started nationwide on April 15.

Talking to HT, senior VHP office bearer of Kashi pranth, Ashwani Mishra, said the parishad had provided printed coupons of a minimum of Rs 100 besides a separate space on the coupon if the donor wanted to donate more than Rs 100.

“Every day, members of the Hindu community are donating generously. Lawyers, traders, teachers and other professionals associated with the parishad are collecting funds from their own fraternity. Besides, VHP activists are also going door-to-door for collecting fund. The decision for organising the fund collection drive was taken in parishad’s national executive meet held in Haridwar in September 2016,” he informed.

Kashi pranth of the parishad has 19 districts under its purview including Allahabad, Varanasi, Kaushambi, Pratapgarh, Fatehpur and Kanpur of which major donations received so far are from Varanasi, Kanpur and Allahabad.

As per Mishra, till now around Rs 15 lakh has already been received as donation jointly in Allahabad and Varanasi and by the end of the special fund collection drive around Rs 50 lakh collection was expected in Kashi pranth.

The VHP-sponsored Ram Mahotsav commenced at 5,000 locations across country on March 29 and concluded on April 11.