District Administration installs donation boxes at Shahjalal Shrine

As part of an initiative to ensure transparency in income and expenditure at the historic Hazrat Shahjalal (Rh.) Shrine in Sylhet, the district administration has installed its own donation boxes under its direct supervision. Concurrently, three brass cooking cauldrons (degs) of the shrine have been sealed.

Under the initiative of the district administration around 3:30pm, one main donation box and several smaller donation boxes were installed on the shrine premises on Thursday (June 18). Ansar forces have also been deployed to ensure the security of these donation boxes.

Under this operation, led by Executive Magistrate Abdul Basit Molla of the district administration, three traditional brass degs of the shrine were also sealed. Generally, devotees offer donations in these cauldrons throughout the year, and they are also used for cooking shirni during the Urs festival.

Recently, according to an administration decision, an initiative has been taken to ensure transparency in the income and expenditure of the Hazrat Shahjalal (Rh.) Shrine, Hazrat Shahporan (Rh.) Shrine, and their associated mosques and madrasas.

As part of this, the shrine authorities and the Waqf Estate have jointly started the work of assessing the actual income and expenditure under the supervision of the district administration. For the next one month, on an experimental basis, the records of the funds received through the new donation boxes will be maintained.

Executive Magistrate Abdul Basit Molla stated that decisions regarding future management will be taken after analyzing the income and expenditure data of this one month.

For a long time, questions and discussions had persisted among various quarters regarding the income and expenditure of these two historic shrines in Sylhet. Although thousands of devotees donate cash, gold ornaments, cattle, and other valuable items to the shrines daily, specific accounts of these funds and information on their expenditure were not regularly made public.

Sylhet District Administrator (DC) Md. Sarwar Alam visited the two shrines on June 12. At that time, he directed to lock the existing donation boxes. Later, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of the District Administrator, involving the Waqf Estate, Islamic Foundation, and those involved in shrine management.

According to relevant sources, although a request was made during the meeting to present the accounts of income and expenditure, the shrine authorities could not immediately show the complete accounts.

District Administrator Md. Sarwar Alam said that for the next one month, income and expenditure data will be preserved under the coordination of the district administration, Waqf Estate, and shrine authorities. Subsequently, decisions will be made regarding digital record-keeping, regular audits, and ensuring greater accountability in financial management.