Saibaba temple grapples with severe water crisis, says trust

The Saibaba Sansthan trust here is facing severe water crisis as its water tanks have almost dried up and there is no regular supply from Nashik's Darna dam, sansthan sources said here.

To meet the daily water requirement, considering heavy rush of devotees at the Saibaba shrine, the trust is spending about Rs one lakh daily to purchase water, sources said. The sansthan's tanks have water at a depth of about one feet and water pumping has been stopped to save fish there, trust's executive officer Kishor More said.

Water is being provided in Sansthan's buildings for the devotees residing there through private tankers, while at the 'prasadalaya', lunch is being served on disposable thermocol plates to minimise use of water, he said.

Around 50,000 devotees arrive in Shirdi daily from different parts of the country arrive and the number goes up to even three lakh during holidays, he said.

The sansthan requires 40 lakh litres water daily and about 60 per cent of water in the tanks, having a capacity to store 332 million litres of water, percolates.

To prevent this, the authorities have decided to cover them with plastic sheets, More said adding that the work would take at least a month to complete.

More said they have requested the state irrigation department and Nashik's divisional commissioner to facilitate regular release of water from Darna dam to the Saibaba trust so that their water woes can be resolved.