- PHOOL BANGLA TO BEGIN FROM MARCH 29
- UNTIL NOW, SEVAYATS WERE REQUIRED TO DEPOSIT ONLY ₹15,000
- EXPECTED TO GENERATE RUPEES THREE LAKH DAILY
2026.03.13 (Vrindavan Today News): Devotees and the sevaits (traditinal temple priests) wishing to decorate the famous Phool Bangla at the Banke Bihari Temple will now have to deposit ₹1.51 lakh in the temple treasury, according to a key decision taken by the temple’s High-Powered Management Committee.
The decision was made during a meeting held on Thursday evening at Laxman Shaheed Memorial Hall in Vrindavan, which lasted for nearly three hours. The committee announced that Phool Bangla decorations will begin from March 29 in the temple. Until now, sevayats were required to deposit only ₹15,000 in the temple fund for decorating the Phool Bangla. This amount had been fixed under a 2005 order of the Allahabad High Court, but the order was later set aside in 2018. Since then, sevayats continued depositing the earlier amount while reportedly collecting several lakhs of rupees from the devotees for the elaborate floral decorations.
To regulate this system and increase the temple’s revenue, the committee decided that ₹1.51 lakh must now be deposited in the temple treasury for each Phool Bangla decoration.
During the meeting, sevayat Shailendra Goswami objected to the increased amount, stating that the fee was too high. However, the management committee rejected the objection and upheld the new rule.
Under the revised arrangement, the increase of the contribution amount for the traditional Phool Bangla Seva, is expected to generate nearly ₹3 lakh daily for the temple during the annual festival period.
Committee member Acharya Dinesh Goswami said that the special Phool Bangla Mahotsav is held every year from Kamada Ekadashi to Hariyali Amavasya, during which the deity is decorated with elaborate floral arrangements.
According to Goswami, two Phool Bangla decorations are arranged daily — one in the morning and one in the evening. As the festival continues for nearly four months, the temple is expected to receive around ₹3 lakh per day through the revised contribution system.
He added that the funds will be used to improve facilities for the growing number of pilgrims visiting the temple and to provide a better, safer and more convenient environment for devotees
Goswami also stated that earlier some temple servitors used to charge devotees large sums privately for arranging the Phool Bangla decoration, while only ₹15,000 was deposited in the temple account. Under the new system, the full contribution will now be deposited directly into the temple’s official account.
The cost of flowers and other decorative materials will continue to be borne separately by the devotee sponsoring the seva, while the ₹1.51 lakh will be deposited as a devotional contribution to the temple.
