Mumbai: One of India’s largest ashrams for pilgrims visiting the Sai Baba Temple in Shirdi, Ahmednagar district, about 285 km from Mumbai, will be thrown open to the public on November 16 after the President of India Pranab Mukherjee inaugurates the new facility.
With a surge in the number of pilgrims visiting the temple year after year, the state-of-the-art and eco-friendly pilgrim centre or Bhakta Niwas has been constructed to accommodate over 14,000 people. “In the phase 1 construction, the new facility was built with 1536 rooms that are comfortable and airy to accommodate 9,000 people and this will be followed by a project to build 192 dormitories in the next phase,” Raghunath Aher, chief engineer of the project told Gulf News.
Constructed at a cost of Rs1.10 billion by Chennai-based Shirdi Sai Trust, the project was taken up to provide good and affordable accommodation to devotees coming to Shirdi from various parts of India. The Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust provided the infrastructure for the ashram including roads, walkways, power, street lights, water supply, parking and landscaping at a cost of Rs450 million and a proposed ‘travelator’ at a cost of Rs600 billion. Whilst the Trust provided all the services, the entire ashram project has been funded by the Chennai trust. The temple is visited by around 20,000 pilgrims a day and during religious festivals this number can reach up to a 100,000.
The new pilgrim centre, situated about a kilometre from the temple complex, is well-equipped with parking space, canteen facility, 24-hour solar heated water supply and electricity with full generator back-up, and security. To conserve natural resources, there are two sewage treatment plants to recycle water for toilets and gardens. Both sites have been landscaped with 1350 trees, 50,000 plants and shrubs and 27,000 sq ft of lawn.
Sai Baba is a popular 19th century saint of India who is revered by devotees of various faiths. His message of love, forgiveness and charity attracts millions.
Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan will be accompanied by the President and after the inauguration, pilgrims planning to visit Shirdi can make online reservations from Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad or the Trust website.
