Shahjalal Shrine Breaks Tradition with Public Counting, Tk 17.5 Lakh Found
Photo: Agamir Somoy
For the first time in 700 years, the donation boxes and pots (deg) at the shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal (R.A.) in Sylhet were opened publicly. The counting of donations took place today (Monday) under the supervision of the district administration. Over the course of five days, Tk 17,66,069 was collected in the three degs that were sealed on June 18 and the newly installed donation boxes.
Sylhet District Administration's Executive Magistrate Abdul Basit Molla confirmed the matter. He said that the sealed degs and donation boxes were opened around 2:00 PM after the Jumma (Friday) prayers. In full public view, money was taken out in sacks and brought to a designated location for counting.
Overseeing the entire process was the recently recalled District Commissioner and District Magistrate Md. Sarwar Alam, in the wake of the "shrine controversy."
Following an order from the Ministry of Public Administration, Sarwar Alam was recalled yesterday (Sunday) and attached to the ministry as Deputy Secretary. He had taken charge as Sylhet District Commissioner in August last year following the stone-throwing incident.
In these 10 months, though he had not been involved in administrative controversies, this official became both discussed and criticized—sometimes praised, sometimes condemned—for his recent efforts to reform the donation management at the shrines of Hazrat Shahjalal (R.A.) and Hazrat Shahparan (R.A.).
Thousands of devotees and visitors come to these two historic shrines in Sylhet every day. They donate cash, gold ornaments, livestock, and various other items. It is known that while questions had long been raised locally about the accounting, expenditure, and management of donations, the matter never came under effective administrative oversight.
On June 12, the now-recalled DC visited the Hazrat Shahjalal (R.A.) shrine. He highlighted the need to ensure transparency and accountability in donation management.
A few days later, the district administration sealed the three degs used for collecting votive offerings at the shrine and installed new donation boxes. During that operation, Executive Magistrate Abdul Basit Molla said from then on, all types of donations from devotees would be deposited in the administration-supervised donation boxes. Ansar members were also deployed to secure the boxes.
However, a faction of the shrine's khadem (caretaker) community took a public stance against this administrative initiative. They criticized the administration's intervention in donation management and voiced support for the traditional system.
Amidst this opposition, DC Sarwar Alam was recalled. Although the recall notification did not specify the reason, those concerned firmly believe that the "shrine affair" was behind the decision.
