Insects feast on notes worth Rs200,000 stashed in donation box as it was left uncared for in the past four years

While around 14 million families in Bihar live below the poverty line (BPL) with little to eat and survive, Indian currency notes worth around Rs200,000 (Dh10,828) which were donated by Hindu devotees to a temple have been eaten by termites.

The bizarre incident has been reported from a temple located at Tatma Toli locality in Bihar’s Purnia district, more than 350km east of Patna.


The temple, dedicated to the deity Ram and his family, is run by the Bihar State Religious Trust Board.

Temple authorities said the currency notes put into the donation box by the visiting devotees were eaten up as it was not opened in the past four years owing to the running feud between the old temple management committee and the new temple management committee.

The truth came to light after the new committee which took over the temple management only recently opened the donation box on Monday to count cash.


“On an average, Rs 50,000 is donated to the temple every year. That means the Indian currency notes worth around Rs200,000 have been eaten,” temple founder and committee’s vice-president Rohit Yadav told the media on Tuesday.

He asked the local district administration to take note of the matter and initiate action against the guilty officials. “This is indeed a very serious matter, as more than spoiling money, this is a cruel joke with the sentiments of the innocent devotees. Now, the administration should find out as to with whose negligence the money has gone down the drain and punish the guilty,” Yadav demanded.

He threatened to move the court if the local administration did not identify culprits and punish the erring temple committee officials.

The incident is a reminder to April 2011 affair when staffs at the State Bank of India in Uttar Pradesh were blamed for allowing termites to eat their through banknotes worth some ten million of rupees. Prior to this, termites had eaten away a trader’s saving worth around Rs 400,000 stored in a bank locker in Bihar in 2008.