As places of religious worship are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic with no fixed dates on the horizon for the opening of these establishments, these institutions are facing huge losses. One of them is the Sai Baba Mandir Trust at Shirdi which faces a loss of approximately Rs Rs 1.58 crores daily
The temple remains closed since May 17, and it has received only 2.53 crores and a few thousand rupees through online donations during the lockdown period which amounts to Rs 6 Lakh rupees daily.
The temple is now looking at a loss of more than 150 crores if the lockdown continues till June, affecting the social work undertaken by Sai Baba Temple Trust over the years.
The temple has been closed since March 17, and only 8-9 devotees offer their prayers in the temple through online darshanam.
In the period between March 17 to May 3, the devotees have only offered Rs 2 crore 53 lakh online, which is way less than the normal donations of more than Rs 1 crore rupees in charity paid by 40-50 thousand devotees who visit the temple daily.
However, the officials of the Shirdi Temple trust expressed hopes of recouping the financial losses, as they feel that devotees will throng the temple once the temple reopens. Besides, the next financial year of 20-21 is still several months away, stating that they will have more than enough time to recover the losses caused due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The charity work undertaken by the trust, which has taken a huge hit during the pandemic, includes the treatment of thousands of people free of cost by the Shirdi Institute every year, whether it is a heart operation or other medical procedures like dialysis. Other works include spending Rs 15 crore rupees on the education of poor children.
Moreover, 8,000 workers have been employed by the trust who work day and night to keep the temple clean.
The Sai Baba Institute of Shirdi receives an offering of about Rs 600 crores every year. Rs 400 crores donation is given in the form of cash, gold, silver, and other things that are offered to the Baba.
(With inputs from Prashant Sharma)