Editor’s Note
**Editor’s Note:** The Mahakal Temple administration has introduced a new transparency measure: donated jewelry will now be tested in front of devotees using a carat meter, providing a complete receipt and report within seconds.
Donated jewelry will now be tested in front of devotees at the Mahakal Temple. A carat meter will provide a complete receipt along with a report in seconds.
The Mahakal Temple receives gold and silver jewelry worth crores of rupees every year as donations. Currently, after a devotee donates jewelry, it is recorded in a register and stored securely in the treasury branch. At that time, only the receipt of the jewelry is recorded, but its purity or actual carat is not determined.
Later, the large collection of jewelry is tested through a jeweler. This means there is a long time gap between the donation and the quality check. Due to this, questions have often been raised regarding transparency, records, and actual purity.
Now, technology is entering this entire process. A special air-conditioned room is being built in the temple’s treasury department, where a carat meter will be installed. This machine will determine the carat, purity, and quality of gold or silver in just a few seconds without damaging the jewelry. The machine analyzes the metal composition based on X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technology, making the test fast, accurate, and completely scientific.
Once the new system is implemented, the jewelry donated by a devotee will be tested in their presence. A receipt will be issued immediately based on the machine’s report. This will provide the donor with clear information about the quality of the jewelry deposited in the temple. Additionally, the temple committee will have a digital and certified record of every donation. This will reduce dependence on external testing, keep records more organized, and make the entire donation process more transparent and reliable than ever before.
Deputy Administrator of the Temple Management Committee, Simmi Yadav, said:
