Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) Commissioner and Administrator Shekhar Singh held a meeting on Monday with all departments, including the police, regarding the Ashadhi Wari Palkhi.
During the meeting, Singh asserted that the civic body would ensure there is no shortage of facilities provided to the Varkaris, as done every year. Emphasis will be placed on providing better facilities in coordination with other departments. Instructions were given for all concerned officers and employees to meticulously plan the Palkhi ceremony and prepare a plan for the facilities provided at the Palkhi resting place and along the Palkhi route.
The Palkhis, processions of palanquins carrying the Paduka or the revered symbolic footwear of Sant Tukaram Maharaj and Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj, commence their journeys from the temple towns of Dehu and Alandi and reach Pandharpur on the occasion of Ashadhi Ekadashi.
Traditionally, the Tukaram Maharaj Palkhi halts at the Inamdar Wada in Dehu on the night of its departure, while the Palkhi of Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj halts at Gandhi Wada in Alandi at night. Upon arriving in Pune city, both Palkhis take a rest day—the Sant Tukaram Maharaj Palkhi at Nivdunga Vitthal Mandir and the Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Palkhi at the Palkhi Vithoba Mandir. The next day, both Palkhis start their separate journeys towards Pandharpur.
The Ashadhi Wari Palkhi will be held between June and July this year.
