Cash offerings by devotees to Ruhunu Kataragama Maha Devale has dropped by around half after a revelation that its custodians were claiming the gold and cash collections.
Instead, they are now donating to the Apeksha Hospital development fund at the main office of the Devale.
Also, they are not visiting the Maha Devale, but patronizing the Devale behind Kiri Vehera and at Abhinavaramaya.
This follows the order by the attorney general to arrest the chief custodian and his assistant over the disappearance of a gold plate.
Chief custodian Somipala Ratnayake has reportedly gone missing since.
The collection from a till in the past 11 months alone is Rs. 345 million, and the cash offerings could have been a few times higher than that.
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