Pimpri: The annual palkhi procession of Sant Tukaram Maharaj from the temple town of Dehu to the pilgrim town of Pandharpur will start on Friday.Elaborate arrangements have been made for the procession by the Sant Tukaram Maharaj Sansthan, Dehu Gram Panchayat, State government and the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).
The palkhi procession is scheduled to start its annual journey at around 2 pm on Friday. Warkari (plgrims) from different parts of the state have arrived in Dehu to participate in the procession. Sant Tukaram Maharaj Sansthan has made elaborate arrangements for the procession.
Dehu Gram Panchayat has cleaned the entire palkhi route in the village. Pune District administration and Health Department are ready to serve the people participating in the procession. Guardian Minister Girish Bapat, Governor of Sikkim Shrinivas Patil, Minister of State Dilip Kamble, Former Minister Harshwardhan Patil will be present at the beginning of the palkhi procession.
The palkhi’s first halt will be at Inamdarwada in Dehu. Information regarding this was given by the head of the palkhi procession Abhijeet More and others.
Arrangements for traffic, electricity supply, cleanliness, road repairs, water supply have been completed in Dehu, as well as Alandi.
Meanwhile, the PCMC has made arrangements to welcome the palkhi procession when it enters PCMC limits in Akurdi on Saturday. The procession halts at the Vitthal Rukmini temple in Akurdi.
The PCMC has erected a big pandal outside Vitthal Rukmini Temple in Akurdi. PCMC Mayor Nitin Kalje is himself monitoring the preparations for welcoming the Wari. The police department, under guidance of Deputy Commissioner of Police Ganesh More, has made security arrangements for the palkhi procession. Palkhi procession of Sant Tukaram Maharaj is likely to arrive in Akurdi on Saturday afternoon for its second halt in Vitthal Rukmini Temple. The palkhi will head to Pune on Sunday morning.
In the wake of threat perception to the annual palkhi procession, the police department wrote to PCMC that there will be no stalls or reception counters of any other organisation except PCMC this time. Many organisations install free food distribution stalls, as well as reception counters on the route, but this time, no food stalls are allowed on palkhi route.
The police department also asked PCMC to remove garbage bins from palkhi routes and appoint officials to monitor the quality of food that will be distributed during the procession. Small roads joining palkhi routes must be blocked when the palkhi is passing through the area.
