No activity since 2022 at Baba Bhole’s Ashram in Noida

Located in the densely populated village of Naya Gaon in Noida, Baba Bhole’s ashram, operating out of a single storeyed building in the village, has not seen any activity since 2022 when the self styled godman first and last visited the place.

However, after a stampede at a satsang of Bhole Baba in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras killed nearly 122 people on Tuesday, curiosity is brewing among locals about the ashram, where all seems quiet.

According to Greater Noida resident Himanshu Chand (20), a devout follower of Bhole Baba since childhood, the ashram is known among villagers as ‘Narayan Sakar Hari Noida Pravas’, and it came up in 2021.

“After the Covid pandemic, the ashram was constructed as a gift to Bhole Baba by one of his followers who owned a plot of land in Naya Gaon village. It was partially ready by May 2022 and in August 2022, Bhole Baba stayed there for 15 days,” said Chand, who is a BSc student at Noida International University. He and his family have been followers of Bhole Baba since the past 20 years.

Chand’s mother Neetu recalls, “Bhole Baba did not hold any satsang at the Noida ashram and only stayed there as a favour to the owner who requested him to come and bless the place. As Bhole Baba left that place, he told all of us followers in Noida and Greater Noida that he will not be visiting this ashram again, as he does not want to hold such local-level visitations, and will only continue to hold larger congregations, since the Covid pandemic was over. These congregations (satsangs) were since then held every first Tuesday (called Pratham Mangal by followers) of the month.”

Since then, the ashram has remained quiet. The building, which is spread over 1000 yards, has large iron gates guarding it, and a small alley beside it leads to living quarters, where the caretakers or volunteers, commonly known as ‘sevakars’, reside.

According to Chand, the ashram is cleaned by volunteers every 15 days, but no congregation has been held there in the past two years.

According to locals, the caretakers of the ashram get changed every 10 days.

“Every 10 days, a new person would be staying at the quarters. The villagers know that it is an ashram but we never saw the Baba there,” said Neela Devi, whose house is located across the street from the ashram.

However, on Tuesday, as the news of the death of at least 122 people at Bhole Baba’s satsang in Hathras spread, the Noida ashram suddenly became the centre of local intrigue.

“On Wednesday morning, we saw that some caretakers of the ashram had removed posters of Baba from the building gates, even as several media persons started camping in front of the gates,” said Vivek Sharma, a resident of the village, who gathered at the ashram on Thursday to have a peep inside.

While none of the local villagers knew about the large scale popularity of Bhole Baba, many of them gathered at the spot to know more about him.

“I moved into the next door building about seven months ago but have never heard of this Baba, and had only seen the posters there. We never paid much attention to the building, as it was not frequented by anyone and the gates always remained closed. But after seeing the news, we were surprised that this is the same Bhole Baba whose ashram is located beside our house,” said Amit Kumar, another local in the area, who lives in a rented accommodation.

On Wednesday, local police officers also visited the spot. “After it came to fore that an ashram of Bhole Baba is located in Noida, the local officers were told to inspect the spot and report to senior officers whether the Baba frequented there or not. It was found that he last visited this place in 2022 for a brief period. The plot was owned by a Delhi resident who then donated the ashram to the trust run by Bhole Baba,” said a senior officer, asking not to be named.