Institutions should make Alandi Yatra a success through coordination: Collector Dr Rajesh Deshmukh.
He also appealed to the people to realize that the crisis of Covid is not over yet.
Pune: Keeping in mind that the crisis of Covid is not over yet, all departments like Health, Disaster Management, MSEDCL, Police, Municipalities, Panchayat Samiti etc. should plan for the Alandi Yatra with proper coordination, said District Collector, Dr Rajesh Deshmukh. He also appealed to the elderly and fellow devotees to avoid participating in the yatra in order to take care of their health.
He was speaking at a review meeting held at the Collectorate on the backdrop of Karthiki Ekadashi celebrations at Shri Kshetra Alandi. Resident Deputy Collector Himmat Kharade, Khed Sub-Divisional Officer Vikrant Chavan, Trustee of Shri Kshetra Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Sansthan Committee Adv. Vikas Dhage Patil, Abhay Tilak, Manager Dnyaneshwar Veer etc. along with representatives of various government agencies, representatives of the Warkari sect were present.
Dr Deshmukh said that the Alandi Yatra, which is celebrated with great enthusiasm every year, had to be celebrated in a restricted manner last year due to the Covid crisis. Restrictions have been lifted this year due to reduced incidence of covid. However, there are still more than 250 new covid patients in the district every day and at present over 2100 patients are receiving treatment. Of these, 400 patients are in the intensive care unit and more than 200 patients are on ventilators. So we have to keep in mind that Corona is not finished yet. He also suggested that the Warkari Association and the Devasthan should convey the message that devotees should not participate in the yatra without taking two doses of the covid vaccine.
For the yatra, the District Health Officer and the District Surgeon should provide the required stock of medicines at the primary health centres and rural hospitals. Provide more antigen test kits for covid testing. Special teams and manpower should be appointed for testing. A temporary ‘Covid Care Center’ (CCC) should be set up outside the Alandi city limits. Arrangements should be made to admit the covid patients to CCC and other covid hospitals.
Considering the increasing incidence of dengue, the places of origin of dengue mosquitoes, water storage places should be explored and measures should be taken. The beds of Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s Yashwantrao Chavan Hospital and District Hospital at Aundh should be reserved. He advised taking precautions against any outbreak of any contagious disease.
Considering the large number of devotees coming, proper planning should be done for extra clean drinking water, toilets and sanitation. Close to the crowd, mobile toilets should be provided near Dindigul and water, electricity and manpower should be deployed there. MSEDCL as well as the Public Works Department’s electricity department should take all necessary measures to ensure a smooth power supply and power system and no accidents. Appropriate measures should be taken to supply gas and kerosene to Dindigul.
The police department should take measures to control the crowd and prevent any untoward accidents. Preventive measures should be taken to prevent accidents due to dangerous buildings. The Disaster Management Department should deploy a team of 10 members of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the required number of boats to see the devotees bathing in the river. Alandi Municipal Council, Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation and Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) should keep their fire fighting vehicles alert. He also said that efforts should be made to spread the message of ‘Majhi Vasundhara’ and ‘Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav’ in a good way through the yatra.
Sub-Divisional Officer Vikrant Chavan informed about the measures taken and to be taken in connection with the Yatra. The Chief Officer of the Municipal Council and the Assistant Group Development Officers of the Panchayat Samiti presented the information regarding the measures taken in their respective areas. For this yatra, about 30 per cent of the devotees stay in the Municipal Council limits and 70 per cent of the devotees stay in the Panchayat Samiti limits.
The meeting was attended by officials from Police, Health, Food and Drug Administration, Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, Disaster Management Department, Fire Brigade and other agencies. D. Bhosale Patil, HBP of Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Palkhi Ceremony Committee. Maruti Kokate etc. were present.
