Plagued by leakages, Buddha shrine committee goes for online donations

Plagued by leakages, the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee, on Monday launched the online donation system. Gaya DM cum BTMC chairman Sanjay Agrawal launched the system in the afternoon at a simple function held on the occasion inside the BTMC premises, to the north of the main shrine, the seat of Buddha's enlightenment.
Online donation system is being seen as a part of the ongoing measures to plug the leakages.Though, a scientific quantification of the leakages was not possible, Bodh Gaya watchers believe that a good part of the donations did not reach the shrine coffers.
Though, the committee, earlier made arrangements for the double locking and transparent opening of the donation boxes, the changes could not plug all the leakages and some of the mega leakages took place after the introduction of the double locking and transparent opening of the donation boxes. The double lock system was introduced by the then DM Rajbala Verma more than two decades back.
According to Bodh Gaya watchers, one of the main cause of leakages was the gullibility of the foreign pilgrims, quite a few of whom can not even imagine shrine money being siphoned off by unscrupulous shrine employees including those in the robes. In many cases, instead of putting the money in donation boxes, the pilgrims hand over donations in cash as well as gold to monks and other shrine employees.
Not long back, a monk deputed at a key point in the Buddha shrine was caught on CCTV camera pocketing foreign currency donated by the pilgrim-tourist. One robed monk, deputed near the shrine sanctum, on a meagre salary of about Rs two thousand per month, a few years back was found living in style, regularly flying outside the country and using high end articles. The monk subsequently left the shrine job to establish a big monastery in Bodh Gaya itself.
Allegations of siphoning off of the shrine donations were earlier subjected to a Magisterial inquiry, as the then Secretary of the committee was alleged to have pocketed the entire donation amount offered by a contingent of Japanese pilgrims. Not only that, the then Secretary was accused of getting the shrine gates opened around mid night as the pilgrim group arrived late and was to leave early morning. Records of special opening and donations received were not maintained leading to a hue and cry.
Rai, Madan Kishore, who recently retired as a Special Secretary govt of Bihar conducted the inquiry. Though the inquiry report was not made public, sources say that the report indicted the then Secretary of the shrine committee who was subsequently eased out.
On account of leakages, the shrine committee has not been in a position to execute its welfare projects including the establishment of a world class super speciality hospital in Bodh Gaya.