Vijayawada temple receives Rs 1.05 crores in banned currency notes in a month

A Hanuman temple in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijayawada received a whopping Rs 1.05 crore in the past one month after the government scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes.

A Hanuman temple in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijayawada received a whopping Rs 1.05 crore in the past one month after the government scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes.

Temple priests at Sanatan Dharm Temple in sector 19 in Noida were seen checking Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes in the donation box of the temple. (Sunil Ghosh/Hindustan Times)

The authorities of the ancient Dasanjaneya Swamy Temple at Machavaram claimed they had never seen so much money, as the temple usually receives donations in the range of Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 3 lakh from its devotees in a month.

“A lot of devotees have been visiting the past one month. We have never received so much money, it is astonishing,” Ramakrishna Macharyulu, the temple’s priest, told ANI.

The temple authorities said that after the government tightened its noose around black money traders, many are depositing the old currencies into the temple Hundi (donation box) to convert their money to white.

The administration has decided to utilise this money to develop the temple’s infrastructure.

“Now that the temple has received so much cash, we have decided to develop the place. As soon as we hold a meeting with the committee, we will renovate the temple,” said Sambasiva Rao, a member of the temple’s administration.