K V Ramani has pledged to donate a whopping Rs 68 crore to the temple trust.

It's a gesture that will bring relief to devotees who endure a desperate wait for accommodation, many of whom come here from across the country. 

Now Ramani's donation will be used to buy 15 acres of land where rooms and dorms will be built for followers of the Sai Baba.

''K V Ramani has been asking for land for some time now. There will be a total of Rs 90 crore to be invested in this,'' said Baba Saheb Wadhchaure, Temple Trust Official.

Ramani, a software engineer from Chennai, has a simple philosophy. He has made a killing on the stock market - and he owes it all to Sai Baba.

''Rs 200 crore that I earned from the share market over the last three years is because of Baba's blessings. Which is why I am returning a part of the earnings,'' said K V Ramani, Software Engineer.

About 25,000 devotees arrive in the temple town of Nashik every day, a figure that rises to Rs 2 lakh during the festive season. 

But the number of rooms the trust has to accommodate them is a paltry 10,000, something that will soon rise to 50,000.

''We had to wait in long queues in the past which we will not have to do anymore,'' said a woman devotee. 

There's an upshot to Ramani's generosity. The new accommodation provided by the trust, will ease exploitation by hoteliers and ease pitfalls in the pilgrims' progress