Odisha: Srimandir funds to be kept in nationalised bank

Puri: After Odisha government faced wrath from various political parties over Srimandir deposits in cash-strapped Yes Bank, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has decided to park the funds in a nationalised bank.

The funds of Srimadir will be deposited in Union Bank of India at an annual interest rate of 5.75%.

The Union Bank of India has been selected in the tender process. The temple and corpus funds of Srimandir will be kept in the bank as fixed deposit for a period of 3 years at annual interest rate of 5.75%, informed SJTA Administrator (Development) Ajay Kumar Jena today.

Worth mentioning, Yes Bank has returned Srimandir funds of Rs 389 crore with an interest of Rs 8,23,27,636 crore of total funds amounting to Rs 545 crore in first phase. The rest principal amount of Rs 156 crore will be transferred to the SBI account of Jagannath Temple Corpus Fund at Puri Main Branch after the fixed deposit matures on March 30.

Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had placed Yes Bank under the moratorium. A day after the Central bank lifted the restriction imposed on the private bank, the funds were transferred to the account of Jagannath Temple in Puri yesterday. The huge financial crisis in the private bank had triggered fear among the servitors and devotees of Lord Jagannath putting the fate of Rs 545 crore Srimandir funds in uncertainty.