Gujarat: Donations double at Ambaji temple compared to 2019

AHMEDABAD: The Ambaji temple has seen a huge surge in the past two months with weekly donations doubling as compared to pre-Covid times.
From about Rs 30 lakh of weekly donations in pre-Covid times it touched Rs 60 lakhs in the first week of September, said Savjibhai Prajapati, account officer of Shri Arasuri Ambaji Mata Devasthan Trust (SAAMDT).
The reason for this is that lakhs of pilgrims have taken a journey on foot to the famous temple shrine.Every year this ritual takes place during Bhadarvi Poonam when the fortnight-long mela is organized at Ambaji.
This year the government has restricted holding melas as a precautionary measure for Covid-19. The Bhadaravi Poonam festive period starts from September 15 but pilgrims have started arriving in huge numbers from the beginning of September already, as a result of which the donations have shot up in the first two weeks of this month, said Prajapati.
The average footfalls have also increased from 25,000-30,000 in the first half of September 2019 to 40,000 to 45,000 footfalls. “On September 5, which was a Sunday, about 60,000 devotees visited the shrine in a day,” he further said.
In 2019, about 23 lakh devotees had visited the Shakti Peeth on Bhadarvi Poonam and contributions to the tune of Rs 4.5 crore were received in this period. The contributions had plummeted last year due to Covid-19 related restrictions.
Donations that had dried up during Covid-19 crisis are again reaching pre-Covid levels at four famous temples including Somnath temple in Veraval, Dwarkadhish temple Dwarka town, Ambaji temple in Banaskantha and the Ranchhodrai temple at Dakor.