Shahjalal shrine donation boxes yield record Tk89 lakh
Latest count also finds gold and currencies from 15 countries
Highlights:
- Shahjalal shrine records highest donation collection
- Gold and currencies found in donation boxes
- Foreign currencies came from 15 countries
- Previous count collected Tk70.89 lakh
Donation boxes at the Hazrat Shahjalal (RA) shrine in Sylhet yielded a record Tk88,92,966 in cash today (19 September), along with gold and foreign currencies from 15 countries.
The fourth public count of the shrine's donation boxes began at around 9am, 34 days after the previous count, and continued until the evening.
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The seals on the donation boxes and offering drums were opened in the presence of an executive magistrate, after which nearly 50 volunteers spent the day counting the donations.
Sylhet City Corporation Administrator and member of the shrine's financial management committee Abdul Qayyum Chowdhury announced the total at around 6pm.
The donations included 1 bhori, 9 ana and 2 rati of gold.
The boxes also contained 5 British pounds, 3,954 Indian rupees, 5 Thai baht, 99.25 Saudi riyals, 29 Malaysian ringgit, $8, 903 Omani rials, 57.25 UAE dirhams, 1 Iraqi dinar, 21.50 Qatari riyals, 30.10 euros, 0.25 Bahraini dinars, 50 Papua New Guinean kina, 15 Chinese yuan and 5,000 Indonesian rupiahs.
The shrine also received six cows and 110 goats as offerings.
Five cows and 70 goats were slaughtered for the shrine's langar khana, while 40 goats were sold to help pay staff wages.
One cow and one goat were donated for the weddings of two women from poor families.
The shrine's donation boxes have now been opened and counted publicly four times.
The first count on 22 June found Tk17,65,549 in cash, along with gold ornaments and foreign currencies. A Tk5 lakh cheque from the district administration fund was later added, taking the total to Tk22,65,549.
The second count, held 18 days later on 11 July, yielded Tk47,10,153 in cash, along with foreign currencies, gold and silver.
The third count on 15 August found Tk70,88,672 in cash, as well as gold, silver and currencies from 19 countries.
The latest collection is therefore the highest recorded in the four public counts so far.
