Shirdi Saibaba temple gets Rs 31.73 cr in donations post note-ban

Shirdi: The Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust here has received donations of Rs 31.73 crore during the past 50 days post the government's demonetisation move, an official said today.

These donations include Rs 4.53 crore in the scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes and Rs 3.80 crore in the new Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes denominations, said Sachin Tambe, one of the trustees of the Saibaba Sansthan.

During the last 50 days, the Sansthan received Rs 18.96 crore in donation boxes, Rs 4.25 crore, including Rs 2.62 crore through credit/debit cards, at its various donation counters, Rs 3.96 crore through bank demand drafts, Rs 1.46 crore in donations online and Rs 35 lakh through money orders.

Apart from cash donations, the trust also received gold ornaments weighing nearly 2.90 kg worth around Rs 73 lakh and silver ornaments of 56 kg worth about Rs 18 lakh, he said.

The trust also earned Rs 3.18 crore from VIP devotees through 'darshan' and 'aarti' paid passes issued to them after November 8, Tambe said.

In the last financial year, the famous Saibaba temple had received Rs 162 crore through donation boxes, which comes out to an average of Rs 44.38 lakh in a day.

However, after demonetisation, the Sansthan received an average Rs 37.92 lakh donation in a day, Tambe added.