As many as three lakh people visited the memorial of Govind Gopal Mahar on Wednesday. The number was 2,50,000 in 2019.
Mahar is a 17th-century peasant who Dalit groups and some historians believe performed the last rights of Maratha king Chhatrapati Sambhaji, the son of Chhatrapati Shivaji, in defiance of a decree passed by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb
Rajendra Gaikwad, a descendant of Govind Gopal Mahar, said that there has been a significant increase in the number of visitors to the historic monument.
Gaikwad said, “The footfall at the samadhi has increased, however, facilities like drinking water, construction of public toilets, water tanker, sitting arrangements and canopies covering the entire area are still missing.”
“The administration must not be lax in providing these facilities to the visitors. Besides, a board showing the direction of the samadhi must be erected so that visitors in Vadhu Budruk can locate it easily and offer tributes at the samadhi,” he said.
Gaikwad alleged that the shuttle service did not have the name of Vadhu Budruk written which led many Dalits to go away without offering their tributes at the samadhi.
Sharad Zine, from Jalna, who paid a visit at the samadhi, said, “ The beautification of samadhi must take place at the earliest. If the government does not have funds, then the community organisations will fund the project and get the samadhi constructed as it is an inspiration for the Dalits.”
{{/usCountry}}Sharad Zine, from Jalna, who paid a visit at the samadhi, said, “ The beautification of samadhi must take place at the earliest. If the government does not have funds, then the community organisations will fund the project and get the samadhi constructed as it is an inspiration for the Dalits.”
{{/usCountry}}Pune rural superintendent of police Sandip Patil said that the department had taken several confidence-building measures aimed at peace and harmony in the village.
While the monument of Bhima-Koregaon is well-known, it is the samadhi of Govind Gopal Mahar that was the trigger for violent clashes two years ago, allegedly instigated by right-wing groups, who dispute the historical importance of Mahar. More than a thousand police personnel, both uniformed and civilian, were stationed inside Vadhu Budruk to keep a tight vigil on the visitors.
CCTV cameras stationed in every nook and cranny of the village captured the movement of visitors.
Similarly, officials from the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), Pune and special cell were also moving around the village as part of heightened security measures. Officers of the rank of additional superintendents were assigned the task of security and threat assessment in the area.