Shirdi: What A Want Of Water.

Aum Sai Ram.

06th May2016.

‪Shirdi‬ (Ahmednagar): Water Scarcity Knows No Barriers In Parched Ahmednagar District Of Maharashtra. Even The Cash-Rich Saibaba Sansthan Trust In Shirdi Is Finding It Difficult To Quench The Thirst Of Thousands Of Devotees Of ‪Saibaba‬.

The Trust Is Among The Richest In The Country And Can Easily Buy Water. Officials Said The Trust Has Precious Stones And Diamonds Worth Rs 9.16 Crore, And 392 Kg Gold, 4,178 Kg Silver And Bank Deposits Amounting To Rs 1,578 Crore. Despite Being Flush With Funds, There Is Hardly Any Water In The Rivers, Canals Or Wells That Dot The District Which The Trust Can Source And Buy. The Daily Footfall Is Nearly 50,000 And The Trust Is Struggling To Cater To Their Water Requirements, He Admitted.
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"We Commissioned Water Tankers By Paying Rs 31 Lakhs In February And Rs 19 Lakhs In March. The Trust Needs About 20-22 Lakh Litres Every Day," Said Rajendra Jagtap, Chief Of Shirdi Trust's Water Department.

The Trust Owns 12 Wells But They Have All Run Dry. As Of Now, Tankers From Ahmednagar City And Nearby Areas Are Commissioned. About 50 - 60 Tankers Ply And Make Trips When Water Is Needed.

The Trust Uses The Godavari Canal's Water. "But The Water Level In The Canal Has Depleted. We Have Also Closed Almost 50% Of The Rooms In Bhakta-Nivas," Jagtap Added.
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A Devotee Remarked That "Until A Proper Board Is Formed In Shirdi Which Can Manage The Sansthan And Such Issues, Nothing Is Going To Happen At Ground Level. There Are Several Ways To Handle Drought Issues At Villages, If One Has Wealth Like Shirdi Sansthan Has.

Pipe Lines Can Be Installed, More Bore Wells Can Be Constructed. Moreover There Are No Trees In Shirdi Village Due To Increasing Construction Of Buildings. This Is One Of Major Issues Of Ever Increasing Heat There.

Shirdi Sansthan Is Still Using Steel Plates To Serve Food. They Are Not Using Any Disposable Patras. Due To Which Lakhs Of Litres Of Water Go Waste In Washing Them."
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Measures taken to Reduce Water Usage by Sansthan Trust.

1.    Disposable Paper Plates are being used in Prasadalay instead of Steel Plate. This is a Welcome Sign.

2.    Closing of 50% of Rooms in the Sansthan Guest House, Especially during Summer Hoildays. This is Not Accepted. There is a Exponential Raise in Prices of Private Hotel Room.

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