Golden Temple sees 20% surge in online offerings

CHANDIGARH: The Golden Temple has witnessed a 20% surge in online offerings amid the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown that has prevented devotees from making a journey to the famed Sikh shrine. The shrine, also called Harmandar Sahib, has been deserted since curfew was imposed in Punjab on March 19. Since then, the regular collection of offerings witnessed a record dip.

From an average collection of Rs 23 lakh a day as offerings (or a total of Rs 85 crore annually, including online offerings) during 2019-20, the figure plunged to between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 a day, according to officials of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). As regular collections declined, online offerings surged.

“On normal days earlier, online offerings ranged from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh a month. In the last month, collections through online modes increased by 20% as per an estimate,” said Mukhtiar Singh, chief manager of the Golden Temple. Another official privy to the shrine's financial matters said: “The online offerings do not include few major offerings recently made by some devotees. For instance, a devotee from Amritsar offered Rs 5 lakh through online payment. This data is only of the routine online offerings.”

Asked about the average amount of money offered digitally every day, the official said on condition of anonymity, “Actually, the banks have not given us full details yet, citing the lockdown.”

Since the lockdown hit collections of all gurdwaras, they are finding it difficult to manage their finances, and the SGPC is promoting online offerings on its website and encouraging devotees around the world to contribute online, especially for the Golden Temple's langar ghar, considered the world's largest community kitchen.