Saibaba samadhi centenary celebrations: Shirdi temple gets Rs 5.9 cr donation from devotees

SHIRDI: The Saibaba temple in the Shirdi district of Maharashtra has received donations worth Rs 5.97 crore during the conclusion of the Saibaba samadhi centenary festival.

Devotees from the country and abroad donated Rs 2.52 crore in donation boxes kept in the temple premises during the three-day concluding festival from October 17 to 19, Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rubal Agrawal told reporters here Saturday.

Besides, the donation counters in the temple, located at Shirdi town in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district, received Rs 1.46 crore cash, she said.

The temple also received Rs 1.41 crore through online donations, debit cards, cheques and demand drafts, she said.

In addition to this, devotees also donated gold and silver items worth Rs 28.24 lakh and foreign currencies worth Rs 24.55 lakh, Agrawal said.

Apart from these donations, the temple trust earned Rs 78 lakh through paid darshan and online passes and Rs 28.51 lakh through distribution of 'laddoos' (ball-shaped sweets), she said.

Nearly three lakh devotees from across the country and abroad visited the shrine during the three-day festival which concluded Friday, she added.

Saibaba, a widely revered saint, is believed to have taken samadhi in Shirdi on October 15, 1918.