Thousands of citizens line up as Pimpri-Chinchwad bids adieu to palkhis
At the same time, the industrial city first welcomed the Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Palkhi which entered the civic limits this morning.
The Sant Tukaram Maharaj palkhi left Akurdi around 5 am.
'Like every year, the citizens of Akurdi gave shelter to various 'dindis' and made meal arrangements for the warkaris' said Iklas Sayeed, a local activist.
Throughout the night, citizens from across Pimpri-Chinchwad crowded Akurdi to have a darshan of the Sant Tukaram Maharaj which were carried in the palkhi to Pandharpur, a distance of 250 km.
Around 5 am, the palkhi procession then left Akurdi.
'The Palkhi procession reached HA premises in Pimpri around 6.30. And after breakfast by the warkaris, the palkhi left for Pune City around 8.15 am. This time, it left half an hour early,' said former corporators Geeta Mancharkar.
The palkhi was then given a rousing welcome by citizens who had lined up on both sides of the highway between Vallabh Nagar and Nashik Phata.
From Nashik Phata to Dapodi, citizens rushed forth at every short distance to have a darshan of the palkhi.
'Entire Pimpri Chinchwad wore a festive look today…It rained early morning, there were clouds but there was bright sunshine when the palkhi started its journey to Pune city ,' said Sapna Landge, a homemaker, who like thousands of others waited anxiously on the highway since early morning.
Devotees also distributed biscuits and bananas, others reached out to the warkaris with tea cups, water bottles and a breakfast of pohas and vada pavs.
In the Phugewadi-Dapodi area, a team of doctors had also set up a tent to examine and provide medicines to the warkaris.
Several housing societies hosted the 'dindis' by making arrangements of their meals.
'Like every year, our society hosted one 'dindi,' which had nearly 200 warkaris. We had prepared the meal early in the morning. All the society members contributed towards the expenses,' said Sanjay Tope, chairman of Goyal Residency, Kasarwadi.
The Sant Tukaram Maharaj palkhi procession reached Dapodi around 12 noon where the warkaris took rest and had lunch.
The procession then left for Pune City later in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, the Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Palkhi procession which left Alandi this morning was given a warm welcome by Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Commission Commissioner Shekhar Singh, along with Pimpri Chinchwad Police Commissioner Vinaykumar Choube, at Magazine Chowk in Dighi.
PCMC had set up a special welcome centre at Magazine Chowk, where Commissioner Singh and senior officers joined in the celebration by matching steps to devotional rhythms, officials said.
As a gesture of respect, PCMC presented the 'maanachi dindi' (honourable dindi) with eco-friendly cloth bags, seeds of indigenous trees, Tulsi saplings, information booklets, and first-aid kits.
The initiative reflected the civic body's commitment to both tradition and sustainability.
To mark the occasion, students and teachers from PCMC's Sant Tukaram Maharaj Santpeeth School performed soulful abhang recitals, adding a cultural and devotional layer to the proceedings.
The Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj palkhi procession proceeds from Dighi, Vishrantwadi to join the Sant Tukaram Maharaj palkhi procession at Wakdewadi.
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