The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has introduced a series of measures to tighten security and accountability during the counting and transportation of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
The changes include pocketless uniforms for staff, stricter frisking, longer CCTV retention and tighter procedures for moving cash from the temple complex to the bank. Staff involved in counting donations will now wear uniforms without pockets, a measure aimed at preventing cash or other material from being carried out of the counting area.
Security checks have also been strengthened, with counting staff being frisked at both entry and exit points of the counting centre. The Trust has further extended the retention period for CCTV recordings of the counting room from 45 days to 180 days. Fixed cameras are also being replaced with PTZ (pan, tilt and zoom) cameras, allowing closer monitoring of activities inside the facility.
The key measures include:
● Pocketless uniforms for staff involved in donation counting
● Frisking at entry and exit points of the counting centre
● CCTV footage retained for 180 days, up from 45 days
● PTZ cameras to replace fixed CCTV cameras
● Greater Trust supervision at different stages of the counting process
● Tighter cash movement procedures from the temple to the bank
The Trust has also advised the State Bank of India to reconsider the deployment of contractual employees for donation-counting duties. It has suggested that the bank consider using employees on its payroll for the sensitive task and provide them better remuneration.
Under the revised mechanism for transporting cash, bundles of notes will be packed and secured in one go before being loaded into an SBI vehicle inside the temple complex. The change is intended to reduce the possibility of pilferage during transportation.
