Shahjalal shrine donation boxes yield Tk47 lakh in 18 days, gold and foreign currency also found
The foreign currencies found in the donation boxes included 135 Saudi riyals, 20 US dollars, 2,532 Indian rupees, 22 Qatari dirhams, 6 Malaysian ringgit, 20 Hong Kong dollars, 20 euros, 1.450 Omani dinars, 54.20 UAE dirhams, 4,000 Indonesian rupiah, 60 Pakistani rupees and 10 Singapore dollars.
Donation boxes at the shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal (R) in Sylhet yielded Tk47,10,153 in cash over 18 days in the second public counting of the shrine's 700-year history, officials said today (11 July).
The counting, conducted from the morning in the presence of media representatives and members of the public, also uncovered foreign currencies from 12 countries, 9 grams of gold, 10 grams of a gold-like substance and 39.4 grams of silver.
Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) Administrator Abdul Qayyum Chowdhury announced the figures after the count, saying all collected funds would be deposited into a bank account opened in the name of the district commissioner.
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The foreign currencies found in the donation boxes included 135 Saudi riyals, 20 US dollars, 2,532 Indian rupees, 22 Qatari dirhams, 6 Malaysian ringgit, 20 Hong Kong dollars, 20 euros, 1.450 Omani dinars, 54.20 UAE dirhams, 4,000 Indonesian rupiah, 60 Pakistani rupees and 10 Singapore dollars.
In addition to cash and valuables, one cow and 65 goats were received as donations. The cow and 40 goats were cooked and distributed as shirni at the shrine, while the remaining 25 goats were sold for Tk1,15,403.
The SCC administrator thanked Sylhet residents for their trust and said the next meeting of the committee overseeing the shrine, Dargah Mosque and madrasa would be held on Thursday. "In light of that meeting's decisions, we will finalise a policy on financial management and administration of these institutions within one month," he said.
The first public counting was held on 22 June on the initiative of then district commissioner Md Sarwar Alam, when just four days of donations yielded Tk17,65,549. While that count found an abundance of Tk1,000 and Tk500 notes, this time smaller denominations – particularly Tk10 and Tk50 notes – were the most numerous.
The transparency drive began on 12 June when the then district commissioner visited the shrines of Hazrat Shahjalal (R) and Hazrat Shahparan (R) and announced measures to ensure accountability in the management of donations.
