Coronavirus : Livelihoods of thousands of families in dire straits as the temples are locked

Ahmednagar : With the closure of major temples in the lockdown, the livelihood of shopkeepers and their families has become critical. The financial situation of big temple institutions like Shirdi, Shinganapur, Madhi, Mohtadevi, Dnyaneshwar temple has deteriorated.

Sainagar city (Shirdi), which has a turnover of hundreds of crores every month, is in losses. The livelihood of thousands of families has been affected and 1.5-2 lakh people have been directly or indirectly affected. There are seven hundred and fifty lodging hotels, two hundred travel traders, two hundred and fifty private buses, five hundred garlands shops-locket-idol shops, more than a thousand private jeep-car transporters, hundreds of florists and flower growers in Sainagar.

Open the temples; Allow Aarti!
Solapur: A bhajan agitation was organized in front of the Zilla Parishad gates demanding that all the temples in Maharashtra from big to small temples, should be opened and permission should be given to perform kirtan, bhajan and kakad aarti with rules and conditions. If permission is not obtained, we will hold further agitation at Azad Maidan in Mumbai, informing HBP Sudhakar Ingle Maharaj.

In the last Punyatithi festival in Shirdi, it received a donation of Rs 4 crore, but this year it came to only Rs 38 lakh.

Kanhoba alias Kanifnath Devasthan in Sri Kshetra Madhi (Tal. Pathardi) has 18 employees including priests, drivers, chefs and security guards. The market, which has a monthly turnover of Rs 1.5 crore, has literally cooled down.

The condition of businesses in other pilgrimage sites in the state has also become fragile. Since the temple is closed, there is no question of devotees. As a result, all businesses have come to a standstill.

The hotel and lodging business in Shirdi has an investment of around Rs 15,000 crore. The business is closed due to the closure of the temple. Electricity bills, loan installments, various taxes, salaries of employees are completely out of reach.
– Abhay Shelke, President, Hotel Association

Since the temple is closed, the donation box is almost empty. At present, the institute is running on a small donation made online and interest on bank deposits.
– Kanhuraj Bagate, Chief Executive Officer, Sai Sansthan