KOLHAPUR: Chief minister Eknath Shinde said it was a matter of pride for Maharashtra that the Sumangalam event was being organised at the Siddhagiri mutt in the Kaneri village of Kolhapur district.Shinde was in Kolhapur on Saturday to review the preparations at the mutt ahead of the 'Sumangalam Panch Mahabhoot Lokotsav' event to be held between February 20 and 26. He was accompanied by Kolhapur guardian minister Deepak Kesarkar. Addressing the media after his visit to the mutt, Shinde said, "Today, the world is facing many environmental disasters like tsunamis, unseasonal rain, earthquakes, floods, drought, etc. We are standing on the threshold. If we don't think about nature, the world will see serious environmental challenges in the future. We need to create awareness to protect nature. It is a matter of pride for our state that the Sumangalam event is being held at the Siddhagiri mutt. The event will guide the world like a lamppost in protecting the environment."He said, "Preparations for the event are in the final stages and arrangements are being made on about 650 acres. Considering the possibility of 30 to 40 lakh people participating in this event, Siddhagiri mutt is being provided maximum assistance by various government departments. This assistance will continue in the future."Union Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate the event on February 20. The organisers are expecting around 30 lakh people to attend this 7-day event. The state government has sanctioned Rs 2.84 crore in funds for the event, which aims to create awareness on the conservation of the five elements - earth, water, fire, air and sky.
KOLHAPUR: CM Eknath Shinde arrived in Kolhapur on Saturday noon to take a review of the preparations ongoing at Siddhagiri Math at Kaneri village in Kolhapur ahead of the major event 'Sumangalam Panch Mahabhoot Lokotsav' that will be held between 20-26 February. Shinde was accompanied with Kolhapur guardian minister Deepak Kesarkar. Sumangalam event will be inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on 20th February and around 30 lakhs footfall is expected by the organisers for this seven days event. State government has sanctioned a fund of 2 crore 84 lakh for the same. The event aims to create awareness about conserving five important elements of nature which are earth, water, fire, air and sky.Addressing the media after his visit at Kaneri Math CM Shinde said, "Today we are witnessing many incidents of environmental damage and the world is facing many problems like tsunami, heavy rain, earthquake, flood, draught, etc. We are standing at such a threshold today that if we do not think about nature today, the world may face serious environmental problems in the future. We need to create awareness for this. Recognizing this need, it is a matter of pride for our state that Sumangalam event is being held at Siddhagiri Math at Kaneri in Kolhapur and will guide the world like a lamppost for environmental protection.CM Shinde himself inspected all the preparations ongoing at the venue. "Preparations for the festival are underway in a vast area of about 650 acres and these preparations are now in the final stage. Considering the possibility that 30 to 40 lakh people will participate in this festival, the Siddhagiri Math is being given maximum assistance for planning through various departments of the government and this assistance will continue ahead” added Shinde.CM Shinde visited the gallery of the elements of earth, water, fire, air and sky, Siddhagiri Goshala, Siddhagiri Hospital and Siddhagiri Gurukul mala and inspected the various projects of the Math, and appreciated the philanthropic projects being done at the Math. The students of Siddhagiri Gurukulam presented a demonstration of 14 ancient sciences and 64 arts in front of him. CM Shinde asserted that there is a real need for such an innovative education system in today's generation.
NAVI MUMBAI/KOLHAPUR: Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday ordered a special investigation team (SIT) probe by a senior IPS cadre officer into the death of Ratnagiri-based journalist Shashikant Warishe (45). Meanwhile, protests erupted in Ratnagiri and other parts of the Maharashtra against the Nanar refinery project. Warishe, who regularly wrote against the project, died after being hit by an SUV driven by Pandharinath Amberkar (39), who heads a group supporting the refinery and is a land broker and dealer.In Kolhapur, CM Eknath Shinde said, “Journalists are risking their lives to work. The death of journalist Shashikant Warishe is an attack on democracy. The person who attacked Warishe will not be supported. The accused has been arrested. A murder case has been registered against him. The accused will be punished.” Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena leader of the UBT faction, wrote to Fadnavis on Saturday, citing concerns over the law and order situation in the state following Warishe’s death. Shinde did not react to the statement by Raut. “I don’t want to respond to political statements. I have issued instructions to all concerned not to support anyone who is guilty,” Shinde said. Raut alleged those involved in the death were “from the land mafia with political backing”.
NAVI MUMBAI/KOLHAPUR: Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday ordered a special investigation team (SIT) probe by a senior IPS cadre officer into the death of Ratnagiri-based journalist Shashikant Warishe (45). Meanwhile, protests erupted in Ratnagiri and other parts of the state against the Nanar refinery project. Warishe, who regularly wrote against the project, died after being hit by an SUV driven by Pandharinath Amberkar (39), who heads a group supporting the refinery and is a land broker and dealer. In Kolhapur, chief minister Eknath Shinde said, "Journalists are risking their lives to work. The death of journalist Shashikant Warishe is an attack on democracy. The person who attacked Warishe will not be supported in any way. The accused in the case of Warishe's death has been arrested. A murder case has been registered against him. The accused will be punished in accordance with the law."Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena leader of the UBT faction, wrote to Fadnavis on Saturday, citing concerns over the law and order situation in the state following Warishe's death. Shinde did not react to the statement by Raut. "I don't want to respond to political statements. I have issued instructions to all concerned not to support anyone who is guilty," Shinde said. Raut alleged those involved in the death were "from the land mafia with political backing". It is alleged that a few journalists along with others, including Amberkar, had purchased around 1,400 square metres of land in Barshu village, Rajapur, in June 2022.Amberkar has reportedly confessed to "killing" Warishe last week for writing about him in a local Marathi newspaper. SIT will look into all aspects, including land deals in and around the refinery project. Around 1,000 villagers took part in a 1km-long rally till Rajapur tehsil. MP Vinayak Raut in his address to protesters alleged, "A total 153 outsiders have purchased land in Barshu village, Rajapur." Ratnagiri Refinery PRO Anil Nagvekar said, "We have nothing to say on the land transaction issues. There is no way we have any relationship with Amberkar." Marathi Patrakar Parishad president S M Deshmukh promised Rs 21,000 aid to Warishe's family. Raut asked the state for Rs 50 lakh compensation.
The Maharashtra government on Saturday announced a special investigative team (SIT) probe into the death of a journalist, Shashikant Warishe, who was killed at Rajapur in Ratnagiri district last week. Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the home department portfolio, asked a senior police officer to head the SIT probe.Warishe, a journalist who had done extensive reporting on the proposed Barsu refinery, was run over by a vehicle allegedly driven by Pandharinath Amberkar on February 6. Amberkar, who dealt in real estate, was keen for the refinery project to go ahead and allegedly killed Warishe as he was miffed with the stories done on him and the refinery.The development comes as the opposition upped the ante, with Shiv Sena (Uddhav) MP Sanjay Raut tweeting a picture of the arrested accused Amberkar with the state industry minister Uday Samant and alleged "political" reasons behind the murder. "A lot of politicians have brought land under benami names near the Nanar refinery. All those landowners affected by Shashikant's writings have conspired to kill him," said Raut.
