Devotees confident of Sai Baba's speedy recovery

"I am confident that all these will be over and Baba will give darshan soon," Sanjeev Singh, a devotee from Uttar Pradesh, told PTI.

"We are all confident that Baba would give us darshan very soon. It is only outsiders who were worried. We are not," said Bittoo Thapa, a devotee from Darjeeling in West Bengal.

Along with the Indian devotees, scores of foreigners who throng Puttaparthi have also expressed confidence that the 85-year-old Baba would recover speedily and bless the disciples. "Baba is god. This is only temporary," Mirek, a devotee from Poland, said. His compatriot echoed similar feelings.

Meanwhile, the police imposed elaborate prohibitory orders in Putaparthi and restricted the movement of public transport vehicles like autos buses and others. Shops have downed their shutters at various places in the town.

The police did not allow assembly of people at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, where Sai Baba is being treated as it has been declared as a sterile zone. Movement of people and devotees was thin in view of the restrictions. The prohibitory orders were imposed as some anxious crowds allegedly tried to attack the vehicles of district officials on Monday.

Sai Baba was admitted in the super specialty hospital at Puttaparthi on March 28 following chest and lungs congestion.