Nearly 10 pc of donated gold vanishes from Shirdi Saibaba shrine

Shirdi: The Shirdi Sai Trust not only manages one of the most revered shrines in India but is also one of the richest shrines in the country. With a large workforce and an astronomical budget, it is not surprising that the menace of corruption has seeped into its system. The world famous shrine has been receiving several hundred kilograms of gold articles from devout followers every year, but it has been revealed that several kilograms of gold have vanished over the years in course of melting gold articles. The issue was also raised in the Maharashtra Assembly. The issue came to light after a RTI activist gathered information. RTI activist Sanjay Kale stumbled upon information that the shrine had collected more than 300 kilograms of gold since 1922. The information says, between 2008 and 2012, the donated gold articles were sent to Mumbai for melting thrice, taking it to a total of 110 kilograms. In 2008, 17 kg of gold articles were melted, incurring a loss of 1.5 kg. In 2009, 53 kg gold articles were melted incurring a loss of 5 kg. Out of 90 kg gold articles melted, the process showed a loss of 11 kg. RTI activist Sanjay Kale questions how the loss of gold could be more than 10 per cent in three years. Gold that is melted in Mumbai is then converted into gold coins by the temple trust and sold to devotees as memorabilia. According to rules, gold articles should have been auctioned during Vijayadashami and Guru Poornima, and the remaining gold articles are sent to Mumbai for melting, but there was no auction since 2009. Millions of devotees, rich and poor, visit the Shirdi Sai Baba shrine every year and donate money and gold articles in the form of gold crown, gold throne, gold utensils and other articles made of gold. The amount of gold donations has been so high that parts of the wall of the shrine has been gold-plated. Yashwant Mane, deputy executive officer of Shirdi Sai Sansthan told India TV that the report of major loss while melting gold articles was misleading and baseless. He claimed that the process of preserving gold donated to the shrine was transparent. Earlier, India TV had also exposed irregularities in sale of laddoo prasadam, fake transport bills and the domination of rich and the powerful in the working of Shri Sai Baba Hospital. The report said, there was irregularities in sale of laddoo prasadam, which were earlier sold by shops owned by the trust. The Shirdi Trust gave the contract of selling world famous laddoo prasadam to a contractor who in turn started selling other items in the guise of selling laddoos. It also came to light that some of the Shirdi trustees, with the help of the Sansthan's vehicle department chief, prepared fake transport bills and got Rs 1.67 lakh as transport allowance reimbursed. India TV found another irregularity in Shirdi's Shri Sai Baba Hospital. It was revealed that the coctors who were working in this hospital for a salary of Rs.35,000 were being given incentives to the tune of Rs.50 Lakh, Rs.60 Lakh and also Rs.95 Lakh. Ignoring poor patients, preference was being given to the patients who had power and influence and had connections with the Shirdi Sansthan Trustees and politicians.