83-year-old cave-dwelling seer donates ₹1 crore for Ram temple construction

 An 83-year-old seer Swami Shankar Das aka 'Fakkad Baba', who lives in a cave in Rishikesh, has donated ₹1 crore towards the construction of Ram mandir in Ayodhya.The donation was made to the Visva Hindu Parishad (VHP), which has been collecting money for the temple construction. It has amassed collected donations of about ₹5 crore in the state.

"I've been living in the cave for over half a century. As a seer, I live on donations from the devotees visiting the cave. When I came to know about the VHP campaign, I decided to donate the amount for Ram Mandir for which we all have been dreaming for long," said Swami Shankar Das while speaking to the media.

The bank officials expressed surprise when the seer offered the cheque for ₹1 crore. Upon checking, they found that his account had the requisite balance. The officials then contacted the local RSS functionaries who reached the bank and helped Das donate the amount in the Ram Mandir Trust.

He donated the money in the form of a cheque to the State Bank of India's main branch in Rishikesh, which he did so by coming to the establishment himself. The employees were gobsmacked to see him in flesh. After that, the city's RSS functionaries were called to receive the cheque themselves.

Initially, Das wanted his donation to be anonymous but when the photograph was clicked with him holding the cheque, he was alright with the story becoming an inspiration for others to donate for the cause.