Faced no hurdle from Bengal govt though some issues in Tamil Nadu during Ram temple donation drive: Champat Rai

Members of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust did not face any trouble in poll-bound West Bengal during the donation collection drive, trust general secretary Champat Rai has said.

Giving details of donations collected from various states, Rai, who is also a senior office-bearer of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), said that he has not received any report from West Bengal of workers who had gone for donation collection facing opposition.

"In West Bengal, our workers faced no problem. There was no hurdle from the government as well. In fact, it was in Tamil Nadu that we faced some issues," Rai said.

He said states in northeastern India have contributed handsomely to the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

According to a tweet by Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, Arunachal Pradesh has contributed Rs 4.5 crore, Mpur has contributed to Rs 2 crore, Mizoram has given 21 lakh, Nagaland has contributed Rs 28 lakh, Meghalaya has contributed Rs 95 lakh.

"In the South, Tamil Nadu has contributed 85 crore whereas Kerala has contributed Rs 13 crore," it said.

Samarpan Nidhi drive, an almost one and half month-long donation collection drive for temple construction for Ram temple is over. Nine lakh workers in 1.75 lakh groups reached out to 10 crore families and collected little over Rs 2500 crore.

The trust is also expecting "a donation amount" from Indians residing abroad.

VHP international working president Alok Kumar said that permissions have been sought for the same.

"The devotees who missed this samarpan (contribution) drive, can still make their contribution through our website. Devotees from outside Bharat are requested to wait a little more. They will be notified upon completion of FCRA formalities," the trust said in a tweet.

Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust is entrusted with the task of constructing a grand temple in Ayodhya.

( With inputs from ANI )