Nearly Tk71 lakh was found in the donation boxes and offering pots at the Hazrat Shah Jalal shrine in Sylhet during the third public count, held 34 days after the previous one.

The counting, carried out publicly on Saturday, also yielded two tolas and one rati of gold, 23 pieces of silver weighing two annas, and foreign currencies from 19 countries.

Public counting of donations at the shrine began in June following an initiative by then-Sylhet Deputy Commissioner Md Sarwoer Alam to bring greater transparency to the shrine's finances.

On June 18, the district administration sealed three traditional donation pots and installed its own donation boxes under administrative supervision for transparency. The move, however, sparked controversy, and Sarwoer was withdrawn as DC on June 21.

The following day, the sealed pots and donation boxes were opened and the money was counted publicly for the first time in the shrine's history. The first count yielded Tk17.66 lakh in cash and seven annas of gold.

On Saturday, three offering pots and three large donation boxes were opened around 10am, with about 30 volunteers publicly counting the money. Officials from the administration, the shrine's caretaker and members of the public were present.

The latest count found Tk70.89 lakh in cash. The foreign currencies included British pounds, Indian rupees, Pakistani rupees, Saudi riyals, Malaysian ringgit, US dollars, Nepalese rupees, UAE dirhams, Turkish lira, Vietnamese dong, Japanese yen, Qatari riyals, South African rand, Singapore dollars, Iranian currency, Maldivian rufiyaa, Canadian dollars and Kuwaiti currency.

The money will be deposited into the shrine's designated bank account.

The second public count, conducted on July 11 after 18 days, yielded Tk47.10 lakh. The latest Tk70.89 lakh was collected over 34 days.

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