Shirdi Sai Baba temple collects Rs4.5 crore donation in 4 days

In just four days, the Shirdi Sai Baba temple authorities collected cash and jewellery amounting to Rs 4.5 crore as donation from the devotees. Worshippers turned out in large numbers between December 30 and January 2 to seek the blessings of Sai Baba.

“The total collection in the last week of December and first two days of January this year was around Rs 8 crores. The devotees donated cash and ornaments in hundi,” said the trustee of Shree Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan Trust, Ashok Khambekar.

According to him, there was a record turnout on December 31 last year and January 1 and 2. During those three days, more than five lakh devotees visited the temple and donated 351 grams of gold worth Rs7.25 lakh and 3,641 grams of silver worth Rs1.60 lakh, apart from cash.

Elaborate arrangements were made for the visitors, by the temple trust, keeping in mind the large turnout of devotees seeking darshan, Khambekar said.

Bhajan singer Pratima Rani, a devotee of Sai Baba, from Mumbai, offered a gold garland weighing about a kilogram worth Rs19 lakh to Sai Baba. Another devotee, Rajubhai Patel, offered a donation of Rs 11.11 lakh for distributing free meals.

Two devotees from Hyderabad Yagyanarayan Sharma and Pavankumar Sharma offered a gold crown to Sai Baba weighing 230 grams, worth Rs4.32 lakh.

During those four days, 1.94lakh laddu packets were sold as Prasad and over 1.65 lakh devotees took meals at the trust’s Prasadalaya. Infact, over 30,000 breakfast packets were also sold.

The town of Shirdi was abuzz with palkhis and dindis, with devotees walking down to the temple town from different places, most of them from Mumbai.