PM Modi said, ‘Worshiping Vitthal …’; Three blessings sought

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the four-laning work of Pandharpur Palkhi Marg online. Maharashtra Governor Bhagsingh Koshyari, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Raosaheb Danve, Bharti Pawar, Bhagwat Karad, Ramdas Athavale and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Devendra Fadnavis and Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar were present on the occasion. Prime Minister Modi bowed to Vitthal of Pandharpur and greeted all Vaishnava devotees and Warakaris. Before Modi’s speech, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray spoke.

Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the four-laning of Pandharpur Alandi (sant dnyaneshawar maharaj palkhi marg) and Pandharpur Dehu (sant dnyaneshawar maharaj palkhi marg) palanquin route. It is a four-tiered plan costing over Rs 11,000 crore. Special facilities will be provided for the walkers in Pandharpur Wari. The four-laning of Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Palkhi Marg will be done in 5 phases. On the other hand, the four-laning work of Sant Tukaram Maharaj Palkhi Marg will be completed in three phases, said Prime Minister Modi.

Matched with Vitthal through the development plan of Palkhi Marg. What could be more fortunate than the revelation of divine grace. I am happy that the Palkhi Marg of Saint Dnyaneshwar Mauli and Saint Tukobarai is being inaugurated today. This will provide more facilities to the Warakaris. Roads are said to be the path of development. Also, these palanquin routes will be the highways that fly the flag of Bhagwat Dharma even higher. It will be the gateway to the path of holy devotion, said Prime Minister Modi from Maritha. These highways will be more than 350 km long and the plan is to spend more than Rs 11,000 crore on them. The feature is that special lanes will be built for pedestrians on both sides of the highway. The 200 km National Highway connecting Pandharpur has been inaugurated. It has cost at least Rs 1,200 crore. Warakaris coming from Satara, Kolhapur, Sangli, Marathwada and North Maharashtra will be greatly helped by this highway. This highway will be the means of development of the entire region with the service of Vitthal devotees. This will increase the connectivity of South India and facilitate devotees to come to Pandharpur. Congratulations to everyone involved in all these development works, said Prime Minister Modi.

Wari of Pandharpur is still the oldest pilgrimage in the world. The Pandharpur Yatra is seen as a social movement. Who will forget the panoramic view of Pandharpur Yatra on Ashadi Ekadashi. Thousands of devotees flock to Pandharpur to pay homage to Lord Vitthal. Throughout history, there have been many attacks on India and Maharashtra. The country was in slavery for hundreds of years. Natural disasters, many difficult challenges. But our faith in Vitthala has not diminished. The Wari of Pandharpur continued uninterrupted, said Prime Minister Modi.

Palkhas and devotees come from different directions to pay homage to Lord Vitthal. Your thoughts may be different. But our goal is the same. After all, all belong to the Bhagwat sect. Palkhi routes to Pandharpur are different. But all these palanquins unite at the feet of Vitthal in this Pandharpur. This tradition is a symbol of India’s sustainable education. It does not bind your faith, it frees you. The vision of Vitthal is open to all. Because of this, when I say ‘Sabka Saath-Sabka Vikas’, this is the feeling behind it. This sentiment inspires the development of the country. It promotes development by taking everyone along, said Prime Minister Modi.

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The service of Vitthal of Pandharpur is for me the service of Shri Narayana in reality. This is the land where the saffron still actually resides. Saint Namdev has said that Vitthal has been Pandhari since this creation, Prime Minister Modi said. In the north, Ramananda, Kabirdas, Goswami Tulsidas, Surdas, Guru Nanakdev and Saint Raidas became great saints. In the East, saints like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Shankar Deva enriched the country with their thoughts. In the south, Madhvacharya, Vallabhacharya, Ramanujacharya and in the west, Narsi Mehta, Mirabai, Dhiro Bhagat, Bhoja Bhagat, Pritam became great saints. Such great saints in different parts of the country continued to guide the country, this is the characteristic of India.

The specialty of Pandharpur Wari is that women walk along with men. This is the manpower of our country. Wari of Pandharpur is a symbol of equality that creates opportunity. The message of ‘discrimination is evil’ is given in this ward, said Prime Minister Modi.

Prime Minister Modi asked for three blessings

During the four-laning of the palanquin route, dense and cool shade trees should be planted on both the sides of the route. Another blessing was sought by Prime Minister Modi to provide drinking water to the Warkaris walking in Pandharpur Wari. The third blessing is for Pandharpur. In the future, we want to see Pandharpur as one of the cleanest pilgrimage sites in India. This work will be done with the participation of the masses. This is possible only through the initiative of local citizens. He should lead this cleanliness campaign. Only then can we make this dream come true, said Prime Minister Modi.