Source: The Pioneer
BANARAS, INDIA, January 6, 2001: The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)-led state government surprised Hindus by curtailing the annual budget of the famous Kashi Viswanath Temple. The curtailment may pose many difficulties to the management as the charges of various prayers and rituals may have to be hiked higher. According to sources against the proposal of US$434,782 for the year 2001, the state government has sanctioned only $89,630. Whereas the budget for the temple last year was $402,174. The temple pays more than $2,174 in the form of salaries to it’s 40-odd employees every month and monthly expenditure on three officials posted at the temple was around $1,304 per month. Suspicions of corruption may be behind the cuts.