PM to visit Maharashtra; will inaugurate Jagatguru Shrisant Tukaram Maharaj Temple

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Maharashtra on Tuesday during which he would inaugurate the Jal Bhushan Building and Gallery of Revolutionaries in Mumbai as well as the Jagatguru Shrisant Tukaram Maharaj Temple in Pune.

The prime minister will also participate in Dwishatabdi Mahotsav of Mumbai Samachar, a newspaper that has been published continuously for 200 years Prime Minister Modi will visit Maharashtra on June 14, and at around 1:45 PM, he will inaugurate Jagatguru Shrisant Tukaram Maharaj Temple in Dehu, Pune, a Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) statement said.

At around 4:15 PM, the prime minister will inaugurate the Jal Bhushan Building and Gallery of Revolutionaries at the Raj Bhawan in Mumbai, it said.

Thereafter, at around 6 PM, Prime Minister Modi will participate in Dwishatabdi Mahotsav of Mumbai Samachar at Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai.

In Dehu, he will inaugurate the Jagatguru Shrisant Tukaram Maharaj Temple. Sant Tukaram was a Warkari saint and poet, famously known for Abhyanga devotional poetry and community-oriented worship through spiritual songs known as ‘kirtans’. He lived in Dehu. A Shila Mandir was built after his demise, but it was not formally structured like a temple, the statement said. It has been rebuilt in stone masonry with 36 peaks, and also carries an idol of Sant Tukaram.

The Jal Bhushan has been the official residence of the Governor of Maharashtra since 1885. Upon completing its lifespan, it was demolished and a new building was sanctioned in its place. The Foundation stone for the new building was laid by President Ram Nath Kovind in August 2019. All distinctive features of the old building have been preserved in the newly constructed building, the statement said.

In 2016, the then Governor of Maharashtra, Vidyasagar Rao, had found a bunker in Raj Bhawan. It had earlier been used by Britishers as secret storage for arms and ammunition. The bunker was renovated in 2019. The Gallery of Revolutionaries has been developed in the bunker as a one of its kind museums, to commemorate the contributions of freedom fighters and revolutionaries of Maharashtra. It offers tributes to the contributions of Vasudev Balwant Phadke, the Chaphekar brothers, the Savarkar brothers, Madam Bhikaji Cama, V B Gogate, and Naval Mutiny in 1946, among others.

Prime Minister Modi will participate in Dwishatabdi Mahotsav of Mumbai Samachar at the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai. The printing of Mumbai Samachar as a weekly was started on 1st July 1822 by Fardunjee Marzbanji. It, later on, became a daily in 1832. The newspaper has been published continuously for 200 years. To commemorate this unique feat, a postal stamp will also be released on the occasion, the statement said.