Despite govt. ban, warkari outfits, BJP plan Pandharpur pilgrimage on foot

While the State government has prohibited the annual palkhi procession on foot, which commences on July 1, for the second consecutive year due to COVID-19, heads of warkari outfits are determined that some devotees should make the annual pilgrimage to Pandharpur on foot.

Each year, lakhs of warkaris (devotees) converge on the temple town of Pandharpur in Solapur district carrying palkhis (palanquins) bearing the ‘padukas’ or footprints of saints Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram, setting off from the religious spots of Alandi and Dehu outside Pune city.

The Pune police have already imposed a curfew in Dehu and Alandi ahead of the departure of Ashadhi Wari on July 1 and 2, to preclude crowding and ensure that devotees do not gather in large numbers at temples or ghats. Similarly, all non-essential shops are to remain shut on the occasion while transport is to be curtailed.

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) religious front, Adhyatmik Aghadi, has threatened the State government with dire consequences if it does not allow warkaris to undertake their pilgrimage to Pandharpur on foot.

“Come what may, this time the warkaris will make the pilgrimage on foot. If the government does not permit, it should be prepared to face serious consequences,” Tushar Bhosale, president of Adhyatmik Aghadi, said.

Heads of other warkari sects, in a bid to pressure the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, have questioned the logic behind the government’s prohibition of the annual pilgrimage on foot, stating that similar restrictions seldom applied to political gatherings.

The BJP, in an attempt to corner the government, has been backing the warkaris, with Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari urging Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to consider the sentiments of the warkaris and allow the pilgrimage with strict guidelines in place.

Last year, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar had announced that the padukas of the saints would be carried by road or air to Pandharpur on June 30. This year, in the wake of the second wave of the pandemic, Mr. Pawar ruled out any procession by foot, while permitting only 50 devotees to convey the padukas by bus.

Mr. Pawar had earlier said that the State government had no intention of transforming the palkhi event into another Kumbh Mela.