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

During 2008 the temple collected Rs 81 crore in cash, 920 kg of gold and 440 kg of silver in the form of donations, creating a record of sorts, Ashok Khambekar, a trustee of Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust, told PTI in Kopargaon.

The temple also collected a record amount of close to Rs 4 crore and 15 lakh in its cash donation box between December 29, 2008, and January 6, 2009, Khambekar said.

During 2007, about 104 kg of gold, 235 kg 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 that a super speciality hospital and a prasadalaya (dining hall) had already been constructed.

Image: The sanctum sanctorum at the Sai Baba temple in Shirdi, Maharashtra. Photograph: Deepak Salvi