Kopargaon, Jan 09: The famous Shirdi Sai Baba shrine in Maharashtra has become the second richest in the country in terms of income after the Balaji temple in Tirupati, trustees said on Friday. 

 The temple has collected Rs 81 crore in cash, 920 kgs of gold and 440 kgs of silver in the form of donations during 2008, creating a record, Ashok Khambekar, a trustee of Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust, said. 

The temple also collected a record amount of close to Rs four crore and fifteen lakh in its cash donation box between December 29, 2008 and January six, 2009, Khambekar said. 

During 2007, about 104 kgs of gold, 235 kgs of silver and Rs 60 crore in cash was received by the temple through donations, he said. 

The trust, which was formed in 1992, has an annual budget of Rs 200 crore which is used for development works such as construction of hospitals, new buildings and roads in and around Shirdi, Khambekar said adding a super speciality hospital and a 'prasadalaya' (dining hall) had already been constructed. 

The Sai Sansthan had a record collection of Rs81 crore in cash, 920 kg of gold and 440 kg of silver in its 'hundi' at the Saibaba temple in 2008, informed Ashok Khambekar, trustee, SSST. 

Apart from this collection, donations worth Rs42 crore were also made through different sources in 2008. The trust was formed in 1922. 

The collection from December 29, 2008, to January 6, 2009, reached a record high of Rs4,13,60,250. 

The collections in the past year has created a record. In 2007, Rs60 crore, 104 kg of gold and 235 kg of silver had been collected. Also, a golden throne had also been donated for Saibaba. Last year, a devotee donated for the covering of the sanctum sanctorum to be covered by gold sheet. 

The yearly budget of the temple trust is Rs200 crore which caters to the daily maintenance and management of the temple and its various religious and social activities, including donations for medical relief. 

In 2008, the trust started a super-specialty hospital at an outlay of Rs23 crore where patients are treated in bare minimum cost. The hospital has gained name for its success in heart surgeries. 

The trust is also building a 'prasadalaya' worth Rs35 crore, the work of which began in June 2008.