No Free Pass,VIPs have To Pay Rs.100 For Early Darshan Of Sai Baba Samadhi at Shiridi

25 March, Shiridi

The Sai Baba Sansthan at Shirdi hasdecided to do away with the practice of segregating the VIPand regular devotees seeking early ‘darshan’ of the Sai BabaSamadhi by charging Rs 100 for a pass throughout the week from April 1.

Earlier, VIPs were given free passes from Monday toFriday and had to pay on Saturdays and Sundays. Now, VIPswill have to pay Rs 100 for a pass.

This decision taken by the three-member Sansthancommittee will be applicable from April one, said Sansthanexecutive officer Rajendra Jadhav.

This system has been made on lines with the TirupatiBalaji Mandir, he informed. Now VIPs will have to pay Rs 100 and no reference will benecessary, he said. ‘Now the discrepancy has been removed and devoteesincluding VIPs will be able to get ‘darshan’ throughout theweek with paid fees,’ Jadhav said.

Earlier, devotees had to apply online three days beforethe darshan, he said and pointed that from April one, theycan apply anytime and get passes. The paid passes are also available in the office.

During last year, 9.92 lakh devotees paid Rs 17.92 crorefor paid darshan, while 4.42 lakh VIPs got free darshan. Meanwhile, the rates for Regular aarti at Rs 300 and Kakad aarti Rs 500 remain the same, he added