Central trust plans Sathya Sai Baba Mahasamadhi

ANANTAPUR: Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust has decided to take up construction of Sathya Sai Baba Mahasamadhi from May 27. The construction of Mahasamadhi will be completed in six weeks.To facilitate the construction of Mahasamadhi, Darshan of Sai BabaSamadhi will be temporarily stopped. As an alternative arrangement, the throne on which Sri Sathya Sai Baba used to sit in Sai Kulwanth Hall will, be kept in the same hall where bhajans are performed by devotees. The mahasamadhi will come up in the place where Sri Sathya Sai Baba was laid to rest. A marble statue of Sri Sathya Sai Baba to be donated by legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, will be installed at the place. The cost of the marble statue is Rs 30 lakh. However, no date has been fixed for installation of the statue after the construction of Mahasamadhi.The demise of Sri Sathya Sai Baba is an irreparable loss to Puttaparthi, which used to attract a large number of devotees from all parts of the country and abroad when Baba was alive. The volume of business activity in the pilgrim town has come down after the demise of Sathya Sai Baba. The number of foreign devotees visiting Puttaparti has also declined. The real estate business is the worst affected as the value of land has slumped. The situation is likely to be changed after the construction of Mahasamadhi.The Central Trust which faced several allegations after the demise of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, is striving to win the faith of devotees by proving that all the charges made against it are baseless.