Shimla, July 11 -- In the wake of recent reports of alleged theft and misappropriation of offerings at a prominent temple in the country, the Himachal Pradesh government has issued a comprehensive Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to strengthen the security and financial management of donations, cash and valuables at all state-managed temples.

The Department of Language, Art and Culture has directed temple authorities to implement stringent measures to ensure transparency, accountability and protection of devotees' offerings.

Under the new guidelines, all donation boxes (dan patras/hundis) must be tamper-proof, securely fixed and assigned unique identification numbers. They must operate under a dual-lock or multi-key system, with prope...