Salary hikes for Ram Lalla, temple staff

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LUCKNOW: The UP government has hiked the monthly salaries of Ram Lalla, the head priest and eight other staff of the makeshift temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya. Ram Lalla, the infant avatar of the Lord, gets a salary for expenditure on outfits, bathing and prasad, and electricity and water supply for the temple. Since the demolition of the Babri mosque in 1992, a caretaker priest appointed by the Supreme Court has been taking care of Ram Lalla and the makeshift temple premises. According to Ayodhya divisional commissioner Manoj Misra, who is the receiver of the makeshift temple, the monthly allowance to Ram Lalla has been hiked from Rs 26,200 to Rs 30,000. Satyendra Das, the caretaker priest, will now get Rs 13,000. The eight members of the temple will get a hike of Rs 500 in their monthly salaries, which range between Rs 7,500 and Rs 10,000. The government has also raised the allowance for ‘bhog’ (prasad) by Rs 800 per month. Das had been receiving Rs 8,480 as monthly pay after starting with a paltry Rs 150 in 1992. “We would be happy with even a small hike since we spend on puja items and incur daily expenditure. We requested a raise in allowance in July this year and this has been approved for the staff and Ram Lalla. The government’s communication reached us five days ago.” Adding that this was the biggest hike since 1992. Misra said the move should not be seen as an attempt to influence the hearing in ongoing Ram Janmabhoomi case in the Supreme Court. “Without disturbing the status quo in the case, we did what could be done ,” he said.