MUMBAI:
The management of the famous Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust (SSST) of Shirdi received offerings of Rs 287 crore in 2019, temple trust official said here. SSST Chief Executive Officer Deepak Muglikar stated, ‘The donation in various forms is around Rs 287 crores this year. It has surpassed last year’s collection of Rs 285 crores.’
“Around Rs 217 crore came in the form of cash offerings, Rs 70 crore –nearly 33 per cent –was offered by non-cash routes like cheques, demand drafts, money orders, credit/debit cards, online transfers, foreign currencies, etc,” he briefed.
“The donations include gold jewellery, coins, guineas and other valuables of around 19 kgs, and offerings in 391 kgs are silver articles,” he added. He further said that cash counters and collection boxes brought out Rs 60.84 crores and Rs 156.49 crores, respectively, plus Rs 10.58 crores in foreign currencies.
Similarly, Rs 23.35 crores came by way of cheques, Rs 2.17 crores through money-orders, Rs 17.59 crores by credit/debit cards, and Rs 16.02 crores via online transfers to the SSST coffers. The year 2018 was the centenary year of the Samadhi of Saibaba, revered by all communities hence grand celebrations were held at his final resting place, Shirdi. The year-long celebrations attracted over one crore devotees from around the world, including top VVIPs like President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.