With devotees continuing to surge into the town to offer their homage to the Late Sathya Sai Baba, authorities on Tuesday extended the final darshan timing till midnight.
Three special trains from Secunderabad, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada brought in a large number of devotees to the town on the final day of darshan.
Inspector General (Rayalaseema Region) Santosh Mehra said the darshan timing, which was to end at 6 pm today, has been extended till about midnight.
“Devotees are standing in queue of about 1.5 km and their arrival is on the rise. We are trying to ensure that all devotees have an opportunity to have final glimpse of Sai Baba,” who passed away on Sunday after battling multi-organ failure, he said.
“We have spoken to Sai Trust authorities with regards to the extension of darshan timings from 6 pm till midnight and they have agreed for the same,” he said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna are among the VVIP's who are expected to visit the town this evening to offer their tributes to Sai Baba.
Sai Baba would be buried in the Sai Kulwanth Hall here with full state honours between 9 and 9.30 am on Wednesday.
Devotees board the special train from Visakhapatnam to Puttaparthi to pay their last respects to spiritual leader Sathya Sai Baba.
Devotees Put To Hardship
Ordinary devotees flocking Prasanthi Nilayam here for a final darshan of Sathya Sai Baba are left disappointed as they are unable to catch a glimpse of his mortal remains even as the rich and the mighty are being extended special privileges to get closer to his body.
The queue lines for the common devotees are blocked at least 30 feet away from the glass casket in which the Baba’s body is lying, depriving them of a clear view.
Added to this, a platform erected for a lone camera along with the equipment and the cameraman too are blocking the view for the devotees, leaving them totally anguished.
While the VIP's and the rich devotees; who are said to be regular donors to the Sathya Sai Central Trust are able to get up close to the Baba’s body, another special line was formed a few feet away to enable friends and relatives of Trust members, government officials and police to get a glimpse.
From this line, the Baba’s face can be seen from a side angle but access is restricted only to a select few.
Many foreign devotees who flew down to Puttaparthi too are decrying the discrimination. “During my earlier visit to Sai Kulwanth Hall when the Baba was alive, I could see him closely. Now, I had no such luck,” Dissanayike from Sri Lanka lamented.
The situation turned worse this morning as the queue was moved further behind as a security measure in view of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit.
Further security restrictions are expected to be put in place by the time Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi reach the Hall for paying homage to Baba around 4.45 pm.
Lifeline of Mumbaities is Local Railway. Lifeline for the world is - Aluminium, Copper, Crude, Gold, Lead, Natural Gas, Nickel, Silver, Zinc. |
No comments:
Post a Comment