Ahmedabad: Money seemed to be the last concern for devotees of BAPS when it came to reaching Gujarat in time for a last darshan of Pramukh Swami Maharaj. Ahmedabad skies were buzzing with chartered flights and private planes as on Tuesday and Wednesday as devotees and dignitaries rushed in. Interestingly, five of the chartered flights had been hired by non-resident Gujaratis from Africa, where BAPS has a strong presence.
The last rites of the spiritual head who was leader of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) were performed at Sarangpur on Wednesday.
As per airport officials who shared details on the condition of anonymity, five chartered flights landed at the city airport on Tuesday and Wednesday, apart from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's air convoy and private flights of businessmen.
"These chartered flights were coming in from Africa," said a BAPS devotee requesting anonymity. "There are five BAPS temples across Africa and thousands of devotees. Several of these devotees were unable to book flight tickets and since the air connectivity with Gujarat is not frequent, they shelled out anything between Rs 15 lakh to Rs 20 lakh for the chartered flights," the devotee said. The chartered flights reportedly landed at Ahmedabad airport and devotees hired taxis to Sarangpur.
It is to be noted that devotees flying in from the US spent between Rs 2.45 lakh and Rs 5.38 lakh for economy class tickets and over Rs 7-lakh business class tickets to reach Ahmedabad in time before the spiritual head's last rites on Wednesday.
19/08/16 Alok Brahmbhatt/Ahmedabad Mirror/Times of India
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The last rites of the spiritual head who was leader of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) were performed at Sarangpur on Wednesday.
As per airport officials who shared details on the condition of anonymity, five chartered flights landed at the city airport on Tuesday and Wednesday, apart from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's air convoy and private flights of businessmen.
"These chartered flights were coming in from Africa," said a BAPS devotee requesting anonymity. "There are five BAPS temples across Africa and thousands of devotees. Several of these devotees were unable to book flight tickets and since the air connectivity with Gujarat is not frequent, they shelled out anything between Rs 15 lakh to Rs 20 lakh for the chartered flights," the devotee said. The chartered flights reportedly landed at Ahmedabad airport and devotees hired taxis to Sarangpur.
It is to be noted that devotees flying in from the US spent between Rs 2.45 lakh and Rs 5.38 lakh for economy class tickets and over Rs 7-lakh business class tickets to reach Ahmedabad in time before the spiritual head's last rites on Wednesday.
19/08/16 Alok Brahmbhatt/Ahmedabad Mirror/Times of India
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