Various religious programmes were organised at the Vitthal-Rakhumai temple in Chota Pandharpur on the occasion of Kartiki Ekadashi on Sunday. Thousands of devotees thronged the temple and paid obeisance on the occasion amid the chanting of the Harinam.
Initially, the Mahaabhishek and Mahapuja of Vitthal-Rukhmai were held by MLA Vilas Bhumre and his wife at 5 am. Later, the dindis from the surrounding villages arrived at the temple premises. The Gatha and Bhajan programme was held at the Kirtan Mandap at 12 noon, while Swami Shivgiri Maharaj recited the Shri Shivpuran Katha in the presence of the devotees at 4 pm, followed by ‘Bhaktiras Rang’ and ‘Abhangwani’, a devotional songs programme by Surmani Pandit Girishji Gosawi.
Thousands of devotees were present for the programme. Gajanan Keche accompanied on harmonium, Rudra Keche on tabla, and the co-singers were Ganesh Avhad, Nirupan Autade, Anand Kulkarni, and Vinod Kenekar.
Board of Trustees chairman Rajendra Pawar, secretary Appasaheb Zalke, and others made arrangements for the programmes, darshan queues, drinking water, and security. More than 40,000 devotees paid obeisance in the temple, the sources said. The religious articles, prasad, toys, and food item stalls were crowded with devotees.
ACP Bharirathi Pawar, PI Rameshwar Gade, API Sushma Pawar, API Arvind Shinde, PSI Praveen Patharkar, Balasaheb Andhale, Nilesh Patil, and others made the security and traffic arrangements in the temple premises. Dr Mahadev Sankpal organised a free health check-up camp for the devotees.
