Counting of offerings to commence on 5th at Sabarimala

CHENGANNUR: The money collected in the 'Sabarimala Bhandaram' will be counted from the 5th of this month. For this purpose, the Devaswom Commissioner issued a notice to 30 Class IV employees from each group of the Devaswom Board to reach Sannidhanam for special duty. The employees who were not assigned to special duty during the Mandala-Makaravilak period and employees who do not regularly go on special duty are recommended. Only those with chronic health problems were excluded. Apart from Deputy Devaswom Commissioner RS Unnikrishnan, Finance and Accounts Officer BS Sreekumar has also been appointed as Bhandaram Chief Officer. About 600 employees are brought to count the coins in the Annadana Mandapam besides the old coins in the bhandaram. At the same time, the number of assistants assigned to lead the counting is inadequate. 11 people have been appointed in three places. At least 45 people are needed to separate the coins mixed with gold, silver, and rice to reach the tables. They are required to deliver the sorted coins to the counting points, ensure that the count is correct, and hand them over to the bank. The Devaswomboard started showing awareness when Kerala Kaumudi published the news earlier about the money getting damaged without getting counted.