100 crore gift to Shirdi Sai Baba

A Chennai based information technology industrialist has promised to donate Rs 100 crore to the Sai Baba temple trust in Shirdi.

Sources in the cash-rich temple trust said it was the biggest ever donation in its history.

KV Ramani, the CMD of Future Software, will be donating the money to the Shri Saibaba Sansthan for the construction of a Bhakta Niwas, a residential complex for devotees on January 10.

Ramani was not available for comment but the chairperson of the trust, Jayant Sasane, confirmed the donation. Sasane said negotiations between trustees and Ramani had been on for almost a year. The residential complex will come up on 14 acres of land owned by the trust.

Ramani, a great devotee of the Sai Baba, has asked the trust to reserve 10 per cent of the total number of rooms in the complex for poor devotees and give out 30 per cent at concession rates.

Sasane said 15,000 devotees could be accommodated in the facility. The foundation stone will be laid on January 10. Construction is expected to be complete within a year and a half.

Ramani set up the Shirdi Sai Trust with Rs 250 crore that he had in his kitty. His trust has been spending Rs 20 crore every year for social causes and for construction of Sai Baba temples at various places.

Sources in Shri Saibaba Sansthan said Ramani believes he owes his wealth to Sai Baba and he has to donate it to him. The sansthan, controlled by the Maharashtra government, has an annual turnover of around Rs 200 crore.

1 lakh can dine at Shirdi daily

The Saibaba temple trust here has built what is billed to be Asia's biggest ‘prasadalaya', a dining hall with a seating capacity of 5,500, making it possible to feed more than 100,000 devotees daily.

The Sri Saibaba Sansthan Trust, on an average, spends Rs 19 crore annually on feeding pilgrims visiting Shirdi.

The prasadalaya, constructed at a cost of Rs 24 crore, was inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil on Tuesday. The complex is built on 7.5 acres of land and has a built-up area of 183,000 sq feet. It is 700 metres from the main Saibaba temple.

A gigantic hall has been constructed on the ground floor, which can seat 3,500 devotees. Two separate halls have been constructed on the first floor with a seating capacity of 1,000 each.

Fourteen domes made of polycarbonate and Manglorean tiles have been con structed to give ample natural light to the hall, so that power cuts do not disturb the activities in the prasadalaya during daytime.

"The work of the prasadalaya has been going on for 15 months and it will be fully functional in two months."

The meals served at the Sansthan are at highly subsidised rates of Rs 5.

Huge refrigerating rooms have been built for keeping vegetables fresh. Most of the cooking will be done with solar energy.

"All the cooking will be done with modern machines, giving top priority to hygiene."

According to the trust, Shirdi has become one of India's most visited pilgrim places after Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. On a normal day, around 20,000 devotees visit Shirdi whereas the number increases to about 60,000 during a festival.