A bandh to protest the claim of Parbhani' Pathri village in that the 19th century saint was born there, was observed in Shirdi.
All shops and commercial establishments, hotels and restaurants, remained shut on the first day of the bandh.
However, the Saibaba Samadhi Temple functioned as usual, with the poojas and aartis performed as per schedules, the prasadalaya served food add prasad to the pilgrims who thronged there for the weekend darshan, as well as the hospital, hostels, etc, a spokesperson for the Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust (SSST) Trust, which manages the temple, said.
The shutdown has the support of the local Bharatiya Janata Party MP Sujay Vikhe-Patil and other local organisations.
