A fresh war of words has erupted between the two towns of Maharashtra over the birthplace of secular spiritual figure Saibaba. Pathri residents have challenged their counterparts in Shirdi to establish that Saibaba was born in Shirdi, Ahmednagar, — one of the biggest and richest religious destinations in the country.

Pathri city of Parbhani district has long contended that the town is the true birthplace of Saibab, a claim strongly denied by Shirdi. It has repeatedly asked the government to develop the town along the lines of other religious tourism destinations. The row resurfaced a week ago when Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray assured the trustees of Sai temple in Pathri that the government would release a grant of R100 crore for development of a basic infrastructure and construction of a boarding house for the devotees.