PM to attend Saibaba centenary closing ceremonies

Ahmednagar (Maharashtra) : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday visit the temple town of Shirdi to attend the closing ceremonies of the year-long festival marking the centenary of samadhi of the Shirdi Saibaba, officials said on Thursday.

Modi will reach Modi by a special flight at the new Shirdi Airport and then proceed by helicopter to the Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust.

He will perform a special pooja at the temple and unfurl a special flag.

Revered across communities, Saibaba passed away in Shirdi village in Ahmednaar district on Dassehra Day in 1918.

To mark the centenary of his samadhi, the Trust had organised year-long celebrations which were inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind on October 1, 2017.

In December 2017, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated a Global Sai Temple Conference and a series of big and small activities were carried out throughout the year.

Modi's visit marks the culmination of the festivities in which over 10 million devotees from India and abroad took part.

Modi will unveil a Saibaba Centennial Commemorative silver coin, perform the bhoomi pooja of major projects like a new building, a mega educational complex costing around Rs 159 crore, a planetarium, a wax museum, a Sai Garden and theme park, totally costing Rs 166 crore, a laser sound-and-light show and a 10-MW solar power project, costing Rs 39 crore, said SSST Chairman Suresh Haware.

Maharashtra Governor C.V. Rao and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis shall attend the functions on Thursday.