Shirdi to go on indefinite strike from May 1 over CISF deployment at Sai Baba Temple

The temple town of Shirdi  would go in for an indefinite strike from 1 May - to protest against the government decision to deploy the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) security in the internationally-famous  temple dedicated to Sai Baba. The temple town of Shirdi is located in the Rahata tehsil in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra. Incidentally, 1 May is also Maharashtra Day - when the agitation begins. 

The strike has been called by local shop owners association, transporters, commercial establishments and people in the hospitality industry. However, Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust (SSST), which manages and runs the temple, has nothing to do with the agitation. The economy of the Shirdi town largely depends on the temple dedicated to Sai Baba - who is revered by both Hindus and Muslim and people from other religious and faiths  - with a very high footfall of devotees, pilgrims and tourists from all across India. 

CISF was given the responsibility of securing the Shirdi airport in 2018, and the government has now planned to assign the force to safeguard the Sai Baba Temple. Nonetheless, the temple's administration has raised objections to this decision, asserting that the CISF lacks the appropriate training and experience to tackle the distinctive security obstacles that a religious shrine presents.