Where to keep shoes is a big question before Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust as it draws up a new security plan for Shirdi Temple Complex. The trust does not want devotees to return to fetch shoes after darshan for fear of chaos as the weekdays footfall at the temple is average 50,000, and it crosses 1,30,000 on weekends.
"We are looking at two plans with emphasis on location of shoes and distance of the queue complex from Pimplewadi Road," said Ahmednagar collector Sanjeev Kumar, who is part of the three-member new management committee.
The queue complex across Pimplewadi Road will accommodate devotees waiting to enter the shrine. It will be a multi-storey building with the capacity to hold 1 lakh people. The trust is planning a flyover or an underground passage to connect the complex to the shrine.
In view of security concerns expressed by the union home ministry and state police, it wants to maintain a "good distance" between Pimplewadi Road and the complex.
At present, a temporary queue shelter blocks the road.
In the aftermath of the Bodhgaya blasts, Kumar said every new addition to the temple infrastructure was being verified with security agencies.
source