Amid the ongoing curfew in the wake of COVID-19, the offerings at Golden Temple have fallen drastically, forcing the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to appeal to people to donate generously.
SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal has urged people to donate in whatever possible way they can so that ‘langar’ (community kitchen), at the Golden Temple and other gurdwaras continues to be served uninterruptedly.
“.. Shri Harmandir Sahib is a central place for Sikhs, where lakhs of people [sangat] are served food at ‘langar’ every day. Today, due to coronavirus outbreak most people are confined to their houses and very few people are visiting gurdwars. At this time of crises, I appeal to people to spare a part of their income for gurdwaras. Specially, at this time when wheat harvesting is in full swing I urge people to donate a portion of their produce, especially wheat, so that the ‘langar’ can be continued to be served to the poor and the needy,” said Mr. Longowal in a video message.
He said that with drop in people visiting the Golden Temple since the lockdown, the daily offering at the shrine had reduced to ₹10,000-15,000 in comparison to ₹20 lakh-25 lakh earlier.
He said the monthly collection of the Golden Temple, Gurdwara Baba Deep Singh and other 40 gurdwaras was close to ₹12 crore in usual times. “In the financial year of 2019-20, ₹85 crore was received, which included offerings in cash as well as donations made through online,” he said.
