No Rs 1,000, 500 notes please, say Indian temples

 The authorities at the Golden Temple here announced on Thursday that they would not accept demonetised currency notes from devotees.
Over 100,000 devotees visit the Golden Temple every day and the cash offerings run into lakhs of rupees.
"We have instructed our employees not to accept demonetised currency notes at the 'prasad' and offering counters," a Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) official told IANS.
He said they cannot stop the devotees of offering the banned currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 at the 'golak' or chest.
NRIs with scrapped notes left in the lurch
He said all SGPC-run institutes in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal have been instructed to deposit old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on priority with the respective banks.
Devotees from far off places had to face problems as prasad counters refused to accept banned notes.
Temples in Vrindavan are also refusing to accept donations of the demonetised notes, with some even putting up banners, urging devotees to not defile god with banned currency.
Rs 500, Rs 1,000 notes declared illegal in India
According to a Times of India report, officials from the famed Shri Krishna Janm Bhumi Trust in Vrindavan said they have issued an email to their staff, instructing them to personally request the devotees not to donate unrecognised money to gods.
Get free food and water
Meanwhile, devotees visiting the Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam at Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh provided free food and water to spare them the inconvenience of having to run around for change.
The Tirupati Balaji temple, abode of Lord Venkateswara, is considered to be the richest temple in the world. 
The temple authorities doubled number of free food stalls and drinking water facilities, according to India Today report.
Experts feel donations will go up because people will find a spiritual way to get rid of the notes in temples.
(With inputs from IANS)
 
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