Shirdi Sai Baba Trust, Chennai chairman to donate Rs 100 cr

Shirdi, Dec 24 (UNI) Shirdi Sai Baba Trust, Chennai Chairman K V Ramni will donate Rs 100 crore for construction of new building of Sai Bhakta Niwas (Sai Ashram) here.

The work on the project will begin in January next. For this, the Sai Baba Sansthan (trust) here will allot 25 acres of land. After the construction, it will be the largest building in India, said Sansthan's trustee Ashok Khambekar here today.

The building will have rooms for about 16,000 devotees. It will be a state-of-the-art building. Nominal rent will be charged from the visitors.

He said the Sansthan has stopped issuing VIP passes to people from December 23 to January 1, considering a large number of people will throng the temple town to see the newly installed golden throne at the Sai Baba temple. It has erected 10 big tents to accommodate the believers.

Mr Khambekar said the Temple Trust has asked Department of Post and Telecommunication to issue a new postage stamp on Sai Baba, taking into consideration that he is reverred by people of every belief.

He said the Trust has decided to donate Rs 5 crore to Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) for construction of modern ST bus stop here. It will be erected on 98,000 sq ft land. On the second floor of the building, it plans to build a Yatri Niwas for about 3,000 devotees.

He further said the Sansthan has also decided to implement various developmental schemes, aggregating Rs 300 crore, in the temple town. The money will be utilised for construction of new Bhakata Niwas, town development, provision of drinking water facility, expansion of educational complex.

It has constructed two information centres in Delhi and Hyderabad, the Trustee added.

UNI