Swami Shankar Das, an 83-year-old seer has donated a whopping amount of Rs 1 crore to the Visva Hindu Parishad (VHP) for the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Notably, the seer has been living in a cave in Rishikesh for the last 60 years. Das said that he had collected the money from the donations received by devotees in the cave of his Guru Tet Wale Baba. Also Read - Rajasthan Transgenders Donate Lakhs for Ram Temple Construction, Call it 'Emotional Moment of Their Life'
“I’ve been living in a cave for over half a century. As a seer, I live on donations from the devotees visiting the cave. When I came to know about the VHP campaign, I decided to donate the amount for Ram Mandir for which we all have been dreaming for long,” Swami Shankar Das told Hindustan Times.
When Das arrived with the cheque at the SBI branch in Rishikesh, bank officials were visibly surprised. However, upon checking, they found that his account had the requisite balance, following which local RSS functionaries were called who helped Das donate the amount in the Ram Mandir Trust.
Notably, The Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust was set up in accordance with the Supreme Court verdict on November 9, 2021, for the construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya. Recently, India kicked off a nationwide drive to rack up donations for the construction of the Ram temple.
So far, the Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra has received a donation of more than Rs 100 crore, ANI quoted the trust’s General Secretary Champat Rai. While President Ramnath Kovind donated Rs 5,00,100, actor Akshay Kumar also made a donation for the construction, calling his fans to do the same.
The Ram temple trust expressed hope that the construction work would be completed in 36-40 months.