The Shirdi Saibaba temple collected more than 7 crore rupees as donations during the three-day Guru Purnima festival from July 2nd to July 4th. Over two lakh devotees visited the temple for the occasion.
The temple received 2.85 crore rupees in cash donations in the donation box, 1.15 crore rupees at the donation counter, and 2.84 lakh rupees at Sai Prasadalay.
An amount of 56.83 lakh rupees was donated through debit and credit cards, 64 crore rupees through online channels and cheques, and demand drafts worth over 80 lakh rupees among others were also donated.
Devotees also donated gold ornaments worth over 25 lakh rupees and silver ornaments worth over 2.63 lakh rupees. The Shirdi Saibaba temple is visited by lakhs of devotees from across the state and the country for Guru Purnima every year.
The Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust (SSST) made special accommodation arrangements for devotees by setting up additional pandals along with existing accommodation facilities, said P. Siva Sankar, CEO of SSST, Shirdi. Devotees walking to Shirdi with Sai Palkhis (palanquins) were benefited by this arrangement.