Apart from footfalls, donations have fallen at the famous Gujarat temples due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The donations received by the four major temples in the state show that the Average drop for the year 2020-21 is about 37% compared to the previous year.
The shrines in question are Somnath temple in Veraval, Dwarkadhish temple in Dwarka town,Ambaji templein Banaskantha, and Ranchhodrai temple in Dakor.
While the slide is in the range of 20% to 55% for these temples on the standalone basis, between them the collections have dropped from Rs 119.35 crore in 2019-2020 to Rs 74.91 crore in 2020-21.
Ambaji temple has seen a modest drop among the four in donations received for 2020-21. As against Rs 51.63 crore in 2019-2020, it drew Rs 41.34 crore in the financial year ended March 31, 2021.