Low rush has been reported at Sri Shirdi Saibaba temple in Shirdi of Maharashtra. It is known that Saibaba of Shirdi is the most happening God among Hindus. Even small newly built Saibaba temples in Andhra Pradesh will be crowded with devotees at least on Thursdays. At one point of time, Shirdi temple became one of the most visited temples in the country next to Balaji temple in Tirumala.  Not just a day or a two, but our sources said that the rush has been comparatively very less.  There are also news in the air that the rush probably reduced after Aurangabad Court gave interim stay on the newly elected Shirdi Sai Sansthan Trust while a few are of the opinion that public are disliking the paid ticket token system that was introduced two years ago in order to cope up with the heavy rush during Saturdays and Sundays.

Since two years, the normal darshan of deity costs Rs. 100 while aarti darshan costs Rs. 300. Earlier, there was no paid ticket system as such as this was only one of such temples that treated everyone equally without introducing tickets. Many devotees of Shirdi Saibaba boasted over the same several times. Now that the darshan is being charges, devotees are presumably disappointed. Since the rush is also low, people are reportedly expecting the roll backing of the ticket prices.(Phani)