MUMBAI, INDIA, June 22, 2018 (Hindustan Times): Several Hindu outfits in Maharashtra have opposed the state government’s move to take control of the Shri Shaneshwar Devasthan at Shingnapur in Ahmednagar district. These outfits allege that the move is “anti-Hindu” and aimed at getting control over the huge donations given by devotees. “Why should a secular government manage Hindu temples? They should fix the shortcomings in the management of these temples and hand them back to the communities,” said Sunil Ghanvat, organiser of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, Maharashtra. “In fact, government committees indulge in large-scale corruption and misuse devotees’ donations.”
The Shani temple is a popular religious destination, and many people who visit the Shirdi Saibaba temple in Nashik visit it too, as it is just two hours from there. Once the state government takes it over, it will have the power to appoint trustees. Ruling parties usually appoint their party members to these trusts, as has been the case at Mumbai’s Siddhivinayak temple and Shirdi’s Saibaba temple. The state government has defended the takeover, saying that it was forced to do so owing to mismanagement by the temple’s trust members, and that the takeover would lead to better facilities for devotees.