Shirdi Sansthan gets Rs 13-cr donation in 10 days

Shirdi: A record donation of Rs 13 crore has been received by Sri Sai Baba Sansthan in Shirdi during the ten-day period ended January 3, Sansthan sources said on Saturday. Last year, during the same period, donation received was to the tune of Rs 12.5 crore, according to Yashwant Mane, Deputy Executive Officer of the Sansthan, which manages the famous Sai Baba Temple at Shirdi in Ahmednagar district. The temple sees heavy rush of devotees during December -end and early January. The donations received in the last ten days include gold and silver worth about Rs 35 lakh. Last year, devotees had donated gold and silver worth Rs 36 lakh. The fall in offerings of gold and silver is less this year due to rise in prices of the precious metals, Sansthan sources said. The Sansthan received Rs 10 lakh as online donations, compared to just Rs 1.5 lakh last year, they said. A Mumbai devotee offered a diya (lamp) made of gold and weighing 500 grams. The lamp is used in `dhoopaarti` of Sai Baba every day, the sources said. A total of 20 lakh devotees visited the shrine during the period, they added. PTI