Shirdi Sai Baba Temple that was built over the samadhi of Shri Sai Baba in 1922 is located in Shirdi village in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.
Revered by followers of all religions, Sai Baba, who lived and preached in Shirdi and surrounding regions during the late 19th and early 20th century, took samadhi on October 15, 1918.
FOOTFALLS
Around 60,000 people visit the temple everyday and the number goes up to about one lakh on weekends. During special festivals, at least two to three lakh devotees visit the famous shrine.
CROWD MANAGEMENT
Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust, the governing and administrative body of the temple and all other temples on the premise, has installed a state-of-the-art CCTV camera network, fortified with face recognition software to keep crooks at bay. And the `5-crore system has already been yielding results. About 730 private security guards are deployed. The state government has 50 policemen and a bomb detection and disposal squad on standby at the temple. The Maharashtra government has a `400 crore plan to change the face of Shirdi and turn it into a world-class pilgrimage plus tourist spot. The 95th death anniversary functions of Sai Baba were conducted from October 12 to 14. To ensure that everybody gets opportunity for darshan, VIP passes, aarti passes and other puja arrangements were stopped for these three days which saw a footfall of two million devotees.