Videos/Photos: Severe Water Crisis @ Shirdi's Sai Baba Temple

[rOhit beHaL]

- SEVERE WATER CRISIS @ SHIRDI'S SAI BABA TEMPLE -

In March 2013,
the Sai Baba Temple in Shirdi grappled with Severe Water Crisis as drought struck several districts in Maharashtra.
Around 50,000 devotees arrive in Shirdi daily from different parts of the country and the number goes up to
even 3 lakh during holidays for which the Shirdi Sansthan Trust requires 40 lakh litres of water daily.

As there was no normal water supply from Nashik's Darna Dam, which itself was drying up due to the severe drought,
the Shirdi Temple also had to face a severe water crisis just like it had to in 2012, when a similar drought had hit Maharashtra.
The water tanks which supply water to the Shirdi Sansthan, had almost dried up to a depth of around 1 feet only.
And water could not be pumped from the Lakes inorder to save the fishes there.

Therefore, to meet the daily water requirement, considering the heavy rush of devotees at the Sai Baba Shrine,
the Sai Trust spend about Rs.1 lakh daily to purchase water through private tankers. While at the 'Prasadalaya',
meals were being served on disposable thermocol plates instead of the regular steel ones, to minimize the use of water.

The water tanks of the Sai Trust have a capacity to store 332 million litres
but as about 40% of the water in their tanks percolates,
the authorities decided to cover them with plastic sheets which took a month to complete.
It also decided to shut down 500 rooms at its lodges for 3 days.

Many local villagers had offered water to the Sansthan from their wells.
And, the Shirdi Trust also requested the state irrigation department and Nashik's divisional commissioner to
facilitate regular release of water from Darna dam to the Sai Baba Trust so that their water woes can be resolved.



Additionally, the Shirdi Trust took a decision to provide 1000 plastic water tanks of 5000-litre capacity
at a cost of Rs.5 crore to nearly 1500 villages only in Ahmednagar district hit by drought and water scarcity.
A proposal was sent to the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court for its sanction.

But then few villagers in Shirdi knocked on the doors of the Court asking for the decision to be reviewed.
Taking cognizance of the petition, in April, Justice N H Patil & Justice A.V Nirgude asked the Shirdi Trust to donate Rs.25 crore
to the Chief Minister's drought relief fund for drafting water supply schemes in worst-affected 15 districts.
It also told the Government to submit a comprehensive report on the utilization of the fund for villages in all the 15 districts.

The petitioners had also raised the issue of massive expenditure on printing of calendars and photographs,
ghee and mineral water procurement. Since the Sai Trust is spending well over Rs.2 crore on mineral water,
it was proposed that the trust itself set up its own mineral water plant to meet the demand.

So on the auspicious day of Gudi Padwa on Thursday, 11th April 2013 Jayant Kulkarni, District Judge of Ahmednagar,
who is also Chairperson of the Sansthan Trust handed over a cheque of Rs.25 crore on behalf of Shirdi Sansthan to the
Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri.Prithviraj Chavan towards Drought Relief Fund, who assured the
completion of Nilwande Dam which had halted due to lack of funds but would now be finished
 taking loans and assistance from Shirdi Sansthan.





- VIDEOS -

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62wdAvBDDKk[/youtube]


 [youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msxzl81-vUQ[/youtube]


































"All the Water in the Ocean cOuld never sink a Ship,
unless the Water gets inside.
Likewise, all the pressures of Life can never sink yOu,
 unless yOu let it in."
........unknOwn

 



rOhitbeHaL