Shirdi (Maharashtra) : On behalf of Sai Sansthan, an appeal has been made to the devotees to be cautious before depositing two thousand rupees notes in Sai Baba's donation box. On May 19, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the decision to scrap Rs 2,000 notes in the country. Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan has also become alert after this decision.
The Chief Executive Officer of Saibaba Sansthan, P Sivashankar, asked Sai devotees to take note of the latest withdrawal of the currency notes of Rs 2,000 denomination and accordingly deposit the notes in the donation box. As per the latest guidelines, the people are advised to deposit or exchange these notes by September 30 this year.
Usually, devotees who come for Shirdi Saibaba's darshan put money, ornaments and valuables in Saibaba's donation box. During the 2016 demonetisation, Sai devotees who did not think there was a possibility of getting the notes in exchange, or did not want that trouble, put these notes in large numbers in the donation box of Saibaba Sansthan.
At that time, about 71 lakh worth of currency was received at the Sai Sansthan donation box even after the expiry date. Based on this experience, Sansthan has become alert after the latest scrapping of Rs 2000. However, it is less likely that there will be trouble and confusion like last time. There is enough time to exchange the notes. So people can exchange notes.
Counting of donations to Saibaba Sansthan is done every Tuesday and Friday. This amount is immediately deposited in the bank account. Therefore, as soon as two thousand notes arrive, they will immediately go to the bank. But after September 30, the chief executive officer of Saibaba Sansthan P Shivshankar has said that devotees should not put Rs 2000 notes in the donation box of Sai Sansthan. It is estimated that two thousand notes may increase in the donation box on account of the RBI decision.