Demonetisation: Donations at Mumbai's Siddhivinayak Temple shoot up by 50%

Donations have shot up by almost 50 per cent at Mumbai's popular Siddhivinayak Temple thanks to the government's demonetisation decision.

Normally the donation for Siddhivinayak Temple is around Rs 30 to Rs 40 lakhs per week, but post demonetisation, it has reportedly increased to Rs 60 lakhs per week.

"The average weekly collection is Rs 46.23 lakhs. But in the last ten days, the temple has received Rs 59.44 lakhs. Though there is hardly any difference between the amounts deposited, the surprise element is the sharp rise in Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes received as donations," said Siddhivinayak Temple Trust chairman Narendra Rane.

According to reports, devotees can also offer donations to Lord Ganesha in the form of shares or stocks of listed entities in addition to traditional offerings in cash and gold.

The Siddhivinayak Temple has also tied up with SBICAP Securities to provide devotees with an electronic platform to make offerings and donations of financial instruments.