Pre-poll sop? MLA to take 25,000 to Shirdi

MUMBAI: In yet another one of his mass yatras, Ghatkopar MLA Ram Kadam has announced that he will lead 25,000 pilgrims to Shirdi on Sunday .Going by past precedent, most will be senior citizens so it seems to be a Herculean task. Yet, the sheer logistics of his past travels make this one seem like child's play to the BJP MLA.
Over his years in the MNS and then BJP, Kadam has organized multiple tours for 1,75,000 people to Kashi, Ajmer Sharif, Palitana in Gujarat, Sarnath, Nashik, Shirdi.“Election or no election,“ he says, fending off insinuations that Sunday's trip is a pre-poll allurement.
Kadam said, “I conducted the Kumbh yatra at a time when there was no election in sight. In fact, my rival parties are joining the bandwagon by organizing similar events. It is they who have their eyes on the BMC poll.“
God is in the detail. “We have vacant buses trailing the cavalcade. And we take mechanics along.If there is a breakdown we quickly shift people to the back-up bus, repair the faulty bus, and resume the journey,“ he says.
Kadam reserved an entire train to take elderly pilgrims to the Kumbh Mela in Kashi. “We took 18,000 people on a seven-day tour. Most were aged 60-70 years so they had ailments ranging from blood pressure and diabetes to heart disease. There were 22 doctors on board the train.“
Shirdi is a day-long tour so they do not need to make hotel bookings. His organizer Vijay Puranik says, “But in Kashi we did so. We do not allow our pilgrims to spend a rupee.“
The team gives pilgrims caps to wear as an identification mark with strict instructions to not remove them lest they get lost. Gangaram Gopale has joined Kadam on each yatra. “The arrangements leave nothing to be desired,“ he says.
Kadam says, “One unfortunate experience is that certain families seek to abandon old, ailing or senile relatives at pilgrimage spots.“