Bhubaneswar: In a move to modernise the donation process for Puri’s Jagannath Temple, the Odisha government is set to introduce a digital hundi system named ‘Samarpan’ across multiple bank branches nationwide.Acting on the directive of Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, the law department is collaborating with the temple’s managing committee to roll out this initiative, which aims to make religious offerings more convenient and transparent for devotees across the country and abroad.Under the proposed system, devotees will be able to contribute to the temple’s corpus using Unified Payments Interface (UPI) by scanning QR codes installed at dedicated digital hundis in banks. Discussions have already begun with Chief Managing Directors (CMDs) of various banks to implement the plan.“We have a long-term plan to set up digital hundis in all bank branches across India. Devotees can offer donations to Lord Jagannath digitally on various occasions. The process will begin very soon,” said Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan.While the initiative has been widely welcomed, some former bankers have cautioned against possible cyber fraud through fake scanning devices. “This is a progressive step that will help devotees from across the country and abroad. However, robust security measures must be in place to prevent scams. The Law Department, in coordination with the Information technology department, is already working on safeguards,” said Damodara Nanda, a former banker.Despite these concerns, the temple committee is optimistic. “Digital donations had begun earlier in a limited way. Expanding it nationwide is a welcome move,” said Madhaba Mohapatra, former Srimandir management committee member.Over the last three years, the temple has received around ₹113 crore in donations, with ₹59.67 crore deposited through banks. The digital hundi system is expected to significantly boost online contributions.
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