Rayagada, Sept 1: More than ₹54 lakh in cash was collected from the hundis (donation boxes) of Maa Majhighariani, the presiding deity of Rayagada, on Monday.
Nine hundis at the temple were opened under tight security, following which the donated money was transported to the Rayagada main branch of Union Bank for counting. After the counting process, the total cash collection was found to be ₹54,15,902.
Apart from the cash, the hundis also yielded 64 grams of gold and 1.764 kg of silver ornaments.
The cash collection included 2,679 ₹500 notes, 1,488 ₹200 notes, 22,034 ₹100 notes, 14,806 ₹50 notes and 21,460 ₹20 notes.
Several foreign currencies and coins were also found among the offerings, including US dollars, Omani rials, Saudi riyals and UAE dirhams.
The sizeable donations are being seen as a reflection of the strong faith and devotion of devotees towards Maa Majhighariani. The discovery of the cash, gold, silver and foreign currencies has generated considerable interest and enthusiasm among devotees.
