Counting of monetary offerings at Sabarimala will be completed by Jan 25, appointed 479 employees for this, informs Devaswom board in HC

KOCHI: The Travancore Devaswom board has informed in the High Court that the counting of the money received as ‘kanikka’ at Sabarimala will be completed by January 25. The board stated that 479 employees have been appointed for this purpose. The explanation is based on the report of the Devaswom Chief Vigilance and Security Officer regarding the counting of the ‘kanikka’ received at Sabarimala during this pilgrimage season.

On the 17th, Kerala Kaumudi had published a report that currency notes worth lakhs were destroyed as the money received as kanikka were not counted at Sabarimala. The Devaswom Board informed this in a petition which is being involuntarily considered by the High Court based on this report and the allegation regarding the delay in counting. The division bench had asked yesterday whether the notes were destroyed because they were not counted on time. The court also assessed the practical difficulty in counting notes and coins by machine as they come in different sizes. The Division Bench asked the Devaswom Vigilance to clarify whether there was any lapse in the counting of the kanikka and the Sabarimala Special Commissioner to clarify the current situation regarding the counting. As Sabarimala Special Commissioner sought more time for this, the petition was postponed to 23rd.