Banks refuse to accept coins worth lakhs from Shirdi Temple due to space crunch: Report

The Shirdi Saibaba temple is facing a unique problem after banks are struggling to accommodate lakhs of rupees donated in coins, reported the Times of India.

The trust has a total of 13 branches in different state-owned banks from which a dozen are in Shirdi and one is in Nashik. Currently, these banks collectively hold close to Rs 11 crore of Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust (SSST) money in the form of coins.

The CEO of the trust told Times of India that four of the state-owned banks in Shirdi have stopped accepting coins as they are facing a space crunch. Rahul Jadhav, CEO of SSST said, "Officials of these four banks said they have no space to keep the coins they get every day. This is a big problem for the trust."

Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust to talk to RBI

The trust according to the report is now planning to directly write to The Reserve Bank of India looking for an intervention.

Jadhav also added that they are looking to approach banks in the other parts of Ahmednagar district and they will also ask the state for help. He said, "We will open accounts of the trust in such banks, so that coins can be deposited there."

Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust's monthly collection

The trust's monthly collection in the forms of coins from 50 paise to Rs 10 calculates to Rs 28 lakh. The banks with the trusts account send their personnel to the temple every month by rotation to collect deposits and donations.

The banks had earlier raised the issue of bags on coins eating space in 2019. The temple as a solution offered rooms within the temple premises to accommodate the large number of coins. However, the banks rules did not permit for this and the banks had to reject it.