Approx Tk71 lakh donations collected
Donation boxes at the Hazrat Shahjalal (RA) shrine in Sylhet yielded Tk70,88,672 in cash on Saturday, along with gold, silver, foreign currencies from 19 countries and livestock.
The counting began around 10:30am after three donation drums and three large boxes were opened. At least 30 volunteers took part in the process.
Sylhet City Corporation Administrator Abdul Qayyum Chowdhury announced the total in the afternoon.
Besides the cash, the donations included 2 bhori and 1 rati of gold and 1 bhori and 2 ana of silver.
Authorities also found currencies from 19 countries, including British pounds, Indian and Pakistani rupees, Saudi riyals, Malaysian ringgit, Nepali rupees, Omani baisa, UAE dirhams, Iraqi dinars, Turkish lira, Vietnamese dong, Japanese yen, Qatari riyals, Lebanese and Egyptian pounds, euros, Bahraini fils and Canadian dollars.
Cows, goats, ducks and chickens were also donated to the shrine.
After the counting, Abdul Qayyum Chowdhury said a committee headed by local lawmaker and Commerce and Industry Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir had been formed to formulate a policy for managing the shrine’s finances.
“We will formulate a policy soon. The counting and management of the money will be carried out in accordance with that policy,” he said.
Sylhet Deputy Commissioner Abdullah Al Mamun and other officials were present during the counting.
Saturday’s count was the third since new donation boxes were installed at the shrine in June.
During the previous count on July 11, authorities found Tk47,10,153 in cash, along with foreign currencies and other donated items.
The new donation boxes were installed on June 18 as part of efforts to ensure greater transparency and accountability in the shrine’s income and expenditure.
Their installation and the sealing of existing donation drums initially created tensions between the local administration and shrine authorities.
An emergency meeting was later held at Sylhet Circuit House on June 26, where a 13-member committee was formed to improve transparency in the shrine’s management and financial affairs.
The new donation boxes were first opened on June 22, four days after installation, yielding Tk17,00,549 in cash.
