President Kovind donates Rs 5 lakh for Ram temple construction as fund-raising drive kicks off

President Ramnath Kovind Friday made the first contribution towards the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya by donating a sum of Rs 5,01,000, news agency ANI reported. The President made the contribution to the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerath Kshetra Trust, set up by the government to look after the construction and management of the temple.

A delegation comprising Vishva Hindu Parishad’s international working president Alok Kumar, Govind Dev Giri, treasurer of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerath Kshetra Trust and others had come to seek the President’s contribution for the construction to the temple.

“He is the first citizen of the country so we went to him to initiate this drive. He donated a sum of Rs 5,01,000,” ANI quoted VHP’s Alok Kumar as saying.

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— Vishva Hindu Parishad -VHP (@VHPDigital) January 15, 2021

The VHP and associated organisations have launched a fund-raising campaign — Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir Nidhi Samarpan Abhiyan — from January 15 to February 5 where they will reach out to Hindu families in different states to collect funds for Ram temple. Retired officials, including Nripendra Mishra, former Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, and K K Sharma, former BSF D-G, are a part of the committees set up by the trust to look into various aspects of the temple construction.

The trust estimates the total cost of constructing the temple complex at Ayodhya will be about Rs 1,100 crore, including about Rs 300-400 crore to be spent on the temple itself.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also handed over a cheque of Rs 1 lakh to VHP as a contribution to the construction of Ram temple. Former Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi also led a fund drive cause in Patna.

“श्रीराम जन्मभूमि मन्दिर निर्माण निधि समर्पण अभियान” का आज पटना के कंकड़बाग स्थित गायत्री मन्दिर से शुभारम्भ करने के बाद आस-पास की झुग्गी-झोपड़ियों में जाकर वहां के परिवारों से निधि संग्रह करते हुए। pic.twitter.com/rK92lQF03L

— Sushil Kumar Modi (@SushilModi) January 15, 2021