E-Paper
Ahead of Kartiki Ekadashi, bridges in Alandi undergo structural audit by PWD
Pune district administration is conducting a structural audit of all of Alandi’s bridges over the Indrayani river inside and around the temple premises where devotees from across Maharashtra will walk in queues to take darshan
With the annual pilgrimage (wari) of ‘Kartiki Ekadashi’ having begun at Alandi since last week and to avoid a repeat of the recent disaster at Morbi, Gujarat - wherein a bridge collapsed as it could not take the weight of the people walking over it - the Pune district administration along with the Alandi temple committee is conducting a structural audit of all of Alandi’s bridges over the Indrayani river inside and around the temple premises where devotees from across Maharashtra will walk in queues to take darshan. This year, ‘Kartiki Ekadashi’ falls on Sunday, November 20, on which day lakhs of warkaris and members of the public will converge at Alandi to celebrate the week-long Kartiki wari.
Dnyaneshwar Veer, manager, Alandi temple trust, said, “Due to the pandemic over the last two years, there were no grand celebrations for Kartiki Ekadashi at Alandi. This year, more than 10 lakh devotees from across the state are expected to visit Alandi during the eight days of Kartiki Ekadashi and the ‘Sanjivan Samadhi Sohala’ of Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj. So, all the concerned authorities including the Alandi Devasthan temple trust and the district and nagarpalika administration have decided to carry out a structural audit of the old walking bridge and two other bridges used by vehicles before the big day of Ekadashi.”
Among the bridges being audited by the state public works department (PWD) are the darshan bari bridge which is an old bridge outside the main temple where devotees form queues to take darshan inside the temple and two other bridges on the Indrayani river that are used by vehicles. “Our structural audit of the old darshan bari bridge for pedestrians going inside the temple and the other two vehicle movement bridges is almost done and we are soon going to submit the report. But as per the preliminary findings, there is no danger or risk posed by the old bridge for devotees. However, we will still confirm it in our final report,” said PWD executive engineer Ajay Bhosale.
Whereas Alandi nagarpalika CEO Ankush Jadhav said, “All our arrangements for the Kartiki Ekadashi yatra are complete and the daily flow of warkaris and people from across the state has started. Soon, the main function of Ekadashi and ‘Sanjeevan Samadhi Sohala’ will also start in Alandi and our first priority is the safety of each and every person coming to Alandi. So, it has been decided to carry out the structural audit of the old bridge. Apart from that, a new ‘skywalk’ bridge is also being built next to this old bridge which will be complete by next year. It will help decongest the heavy rush of devotees during the wari and other festive days”.
Every year, over five to six lakh pilgrims gather at Alandi for this yatra which starts from November 17 this year. The dindis (groups) of warkaris come from across the state and even other states for this nine-day yatra. At this time, the whole of Alandi wears a festive look with small shops, fun-fairs and games and tamasha groups. These groups camp on both sides of the road entering Alandi and their shows go on till late night.
