Sai Baba devotees conduct special prayers, hope for miracle

The devotees congregated at the Prashatni Nilayam and Prashantigram super speciality hospital for the prayers even as doctors said the the Sai Baba's response to their treatment was minimal.

His followers are now hoping for some kind of miracle. "Sai Baba himself said he would live till the age of 96 and you will all see that miracle. Baba has taken upon all this (health problem) to prevent some certain calamity and that's the reason he is unwell. He will definitely recover and nothing will happen to him," said Indrani Anand, a former air hostess from London and staying here since 1996.

"I myself saw several miracles of Baba that happened to me and my family. In late 1990s Baba told me that I will meet with a road accident and it happened. As I suffered severe head injuries in the road mishap and doctors said I would not survive, but it was Baba who gave me a ring and 'vibhuti' which I applied on the wounded part which not only healed but I am still alive since that incident," she claimed.

Yandumuri Anjaneya Prasad, who constructed Sai Baba's temple in Secunderabad along with a group of devotees sang 'bhajans' and 'sai namavali' before the hospital. "We rushed to Puttaparthi, pained by the Baba's health. We are praying for his recovery and are confident that he will give us darshan at Prashantinilayam again," he said.

Another devotee, Chandra who has been staying at Puttaparthi for the past 20 years said that some miracle will happen and the Baba will get well soon. Meanwhile, the local authorities along with elected representatives and members of Sri Sathya Sai Baba Central Trust (SSSCT) held a meeting at the hospital premises.

Speaking to reporters later, Hindupur MP Nimmal Kishtappa and Puttaparthi MLA Palle Raghunatha Reddy said the meeting only discussed Sai Baba's health. "We along with doctors and government officials discussed only matters related to his health and alternative arrangements. There was no discussion on the trust aspect," Reddy said.

Additional police forces were rushed to Puttaparthi as there was growing concern over the godman's health and prohibitory orders were in place to prevent any untoward incident. Anantapur SP Syed Shanawaz Qasim told PTI that security was tightened and more police forces were deployed in case of any untoward incident.

"... VIPs are visiting Puttaparthi and with large number of devotees continuing to pour in, extra personnel are being deployed," he said, adding there are around 1,300 forces at present.