AGRA, July 21 -- In wake of the alleged embezzlement of offerings at Ayodhya's Ram temple, the management at the Sri Krishna Janmasthan Temple in Mathura has decided to make its donation counting process more transparent. The new protocol will include local shopkeepers as observers during the opening and counting of donation boxes, an official said on Monday. The counting process takes place in the temple's red zone, which is a high-security zone. The temple trust has enlisted the help of approximately 30 traders who currently operate shops within the highly secure red zone of the complex. At least one trader, serving on a rotational basis, will be present alongside temple officials under strict CCTV surveillance. Nearly 30 traders are tenants of the temple trust and have shops within the red zone of the temple premises, where nearly two dozen donation boxes are installed for offerings, said Kapil Sharma, secretary, Sri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan. 'The idea is to add credibility and transparency to the process. Having shops within the red zone area of temple premises, all traders are verified by police. This will be more convenient to observe, since we don't have to take additional measures to ensure their entry into the red zone," he said. He added that if people from outside were included, a lot of paperwork had to be done to ensure compliance. "Being on the temple premises since long, these traders are expected to have some spiritual connect to the deity. They were found to be suitable to act as independent observers and asked to put signatures on the list of donations received in the boxes, mostly containing cash and sometimes jewellery that kept in the strong room," Sharma told HT. The traders have welcomed the idea and will select one who would be present at time of opening of donation boxes under CCTV vigil. A rotation of such independent observers will be maintained, he said. The Krishna Janmabhoomi complex is a heavily guarded premises in the heart of Mathura city with the Central Reserve Protection Force (CRPF) guarding the innermost red zone having temples and about 30 shops. There are three major manned counters on the temple premises where donations are received and receipts issued. One is at Bhagwat Bhawan, the main temple on the premises while another counter is at Garbh Grah, the place in the basement where Lord Krishna was believed to be born, besides another main counter. In June, a man Dinesh Sharma aka 'Falahari Maharaj' wrote a letter in blood to chief minister Yogi Adityanath, seeking probe regarding the alleged embezzlement of donations at Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura, but took a U-turn stating that he had no evidence of it. Hurt by these allegations, Seva Sansthan secretary Kapil Sharma also wrote to the chief minister, seeking a probe by a competent authority and urging that the findings be made public to maintain the sanctity of Shri Krishna Janmasthan and the credibility of those serving it. HTC...