Govt eyes MERI ground to host sadhus in city

NASHIK: The Maharashtra Engineering Research Institute (MERI) grounds along Dindori Road appear to be the solution in sight for the administration that is struggling to get land to accommodate lakhs of sadhus visiting the city for next year's Kumbh Mela.
As Kumbh mela approaches, the problem of getting land for Sadhugram to accommodate the sadhus is growing from bad to worse, given that the government being forced to start the land requisition process at Tapovan from the beginning.In order to have an alternate arrangement in place, the district administration is now planning to have some additional space for Sadhugram that can be raised at the MERI grounds along Dindori Road.
The district administration has all of a sudden realised that the number of khalsas has increased even as the number of akhadas camping in Nashik city remains the same. Besides, the government was forced to withdraw its resolution of August 28, 2014 for land requisition after local farmers challenged the authenticity of the officer being asked to handle the land requisition. Following this, the process of appointing the officer will now start from a scratch.
Considering the several hitches along its path, the administration has now decided to take around 150 acres of land from the MERI to raise the Sadhugram. "The numbers of sadhus expected this time is much higher than earlier. Keeping this in mind, the administration has to have an alternative arrangement in place to accommodate all of them. This is the reason that we want to have another space where we can raise the Sadhugram if and when required," collector Vilas Patil said.
The district administration was in the process to requisition 169 acres near Tapovan for the Sadhugram. But a petition filed by the local farmers in Mumbai high court appeared to be the biggest hitch in the process, as the government had to withdraw its resolution on technical grounds. The district administration has already raised the issue with the government and sought fresh orders to be issued for land requisition. The orders are still awaited.
The existing Shahi Marg winds down the banks of the river though the narrow lanes besides Kalaram Mandir and through Sardar Chowk that witnessed the stampede in 2003-04 and the death of 29 people. Since the efforts to widen the Shahi Marg show no signs of yielding any result before next year's Kumbh Mela, the administration has proposed the route from Hirawadi corner to banks of river Godavari near Gadge Maharaj Bridge.
This route is also closer to the MERI open space and if the new Sadhugram is raised at this location, it is also likely to benefit the administration in its arrangements. "We will first focus on the construction of Sadhugram at Tapovan only. This will only be a fall-back arrangement, And if things are taken care off, the sadhus will not be hosted at MERI grounds," another senior official said.