Narendra Modi in Maharashtra today for Shivaji memorial, Mumbai & Pune metro

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a day’s visit to Maharashtra tomorrow, where he will lay foundation stones for the grand memorial of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the metro rail projects in Mumbai and Pune.

Modi will inaugurate the newly-built campus of the National Institute of Securities Management in MIDC Patalganga in neighbouring Raigad district.

He will then proceed to the site in the Arabian Sea off Mumbai coast, where the state government is planning to build a mega memorial for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The Prime Minister’s visit assumes political significance as the high-stake elections to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are just a few months away.

The main feature of the Shivaji memorial, slated to cost Rs 3,600 crore, will be a 192-metre-tall statue of the iconic Maratha king. The site is a rocky outcrop, roughly 1.5 km from the Raj Bhavan shore.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently said the ‘Shiv Smarak’ will not only be the tallest memorial in the country, but in the entire world. He had thanked Modi for “making it possible.”

Later, Modi will address a public function at the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) ground in suburban Bandra, after laying foundation stone for two Metro rail projects, Elevated Rail Corridors Project and Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL).

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, whose party is an ally of ruling BJP, is expected to share the dais with Modi at the MMRDA event.

The PM will then leave for Pune, where he will lay the foundation stone of the Pune Metro Rail project. NCP leader Sharad Pawar will share the stage with Modi at this event.

The memorial project has been facing stiff opposition from fisherfolk and environmentalists, who have alleged that it would affect marine life and ecology of the Arabian Sea.

A rally was flagged off at Chembur today, where representatives from various districts gathered with collections of sand and soil from Chhatrapati Shivaji’s forts across the state.

The rally led by a ‘Shivaji chariot’ will conclude at the Gateway of India, where the Chief Minister will receive the vase carrying water and soil from all districts of the state.

This will then be handed over to the Prime Minister and carried to the memorial site.

For the MMRDA event, the government has sent out invitation to over 3,000 VVIPs and dignitaries, including members of the royal family and Shivaji historians.

Ever since it came to power in Maharashtra in October 2014, BJP has been quietly trying to usurp the near-monopoly that bickering ally Shiv Sena has held over the 17th century Maratha king for the last many years.

Ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly election in 2014, BJP had used the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji for electoral gains, with a famous tagline seeking to evoke Shivaji’s blessings.

The government and BJP are trying to make the memorial event a success with hoardings at important places of all districts and also through campaigns in print, TV and social media.

Meanwhile, an official said those who would accompany Modi in the hovercraft to the jalpujan and bhumipujan venue off Mumbai coast, will include Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, Chief Minister Fadnavis, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, NCP’s Satara MP Udayanraje Bhosale and BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP from Kolhapur Sambhaji Raje Bhosle.

Girgaum Chowpatty turns `saffron’ on eve of Modi’s arrival

Mumbai:The iconic beach front of Girgaum Chowpatty is all decked up and awashed in saffron flags as it gets ready for the arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the foundation stone laying ceremony for a grand memorial to Chhatrapati Shivaji in the Arabian Sea tomorrow.

The sand on the route, which Modi is scheduled to take to enter the sea from the beach in South Mumbai, has been completely levelled and watered. Mannequins of Lord Vitthal, Shivaji and saints Tukaram, Mira bai, Dnyaneshwar and Maharshi Vyas have been put up to showcase the rich cultural and religious legacy of India with a special focus on Maharashtra.

A `sea’ of saffron flags adorns the entire Girgaum Chowpatty area, which is popular with tourists and also locals.

A grand replica of one of the forts of Chhatrapati Shivaji has been built at the beach, where Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will hand over the samples of sand, stones and water brought from across the state to Modi.

The samples, collected from various places related to the 17th century Maratha warrior by district-level representatives, will be used by Modi to lay the foundation stone of the memorial.

The PM will take a hovercraft from Chowpatty to reach the site of the foundation stone laying ceremony in the sea.

However, in all the hectic preparations for the high- profile and much-awaited event, its hard to miss the political message around the function.

According to a BJP leader, the party will milk the construction of the memorial in run up to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls likely in early 2017.

“The Sena has been trying to hijack the legacy of Shivaji Maharaj from the very beginning. This time, we decided to turn the tables on them. Beginning the construction work of the memorial at a time when BMC elections are round the corner will be a shot in the arm for the BJP,” said a senior party leader, requesting anonymity.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, meanwhile, held a meeting with party legislators and vibhag pramukhs (area incharges) where, according to sources, he asked his cadres to “show of their strength” during Modi’s visit to Girgaum Chowpatty and also at the BKC Ground.

A Sena leader said that Shiv Sainiks in large numbers will be present at both sites.

Meanwhile, Fadnavis termed the ceremony as a dream come true for “crores and crores of Indians and Shiv premis”.

Fadnavis targets Cong, NCP over Shivaji memorial project delay

Mumbai:On the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi laying the foundation for Chhatrapati Shivaji memorial in Arabian sea, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis took a swipe at erstwhile Congress-NCP government for “failing” to secure the approval for the project during their 15-year rule.

“My government is following the political, social and administrative principles laid down by Chhatrapti Shivaji Maharaj. Like the warrior king (Shivaji) faced opposition, the project is also being opposed, but it will happen no matter what,” the CM said at a function at Gateway of India in South Mumbai.

Taking a swipe at erstwhile Congress-NCP regime for “failing to secure required permission for the project”, he said the approval for the project, which was pending for last 15 years, was granted immediately by Modi.

Proposed on around 15-hectare island off Mumbai coast, the memorial will be as high as 210 metres of which 60 per cent would be the height of the statue of Shivaji. The total cost of the project is Rs 3,600 crore of which first phase would cost Rs 2,500 crore.

“The foundation stone laying ceremony is fulfilment of electoral promise as well as a dream coming true,” the CM said.

Urging people to be Part of the function, Fadnavis said his government had taken up the preservation of forts built by the legendary 17th Century king.

“Work at Raigad has already started. We are working as sevaks (servants) and not as shasak (ruler),” he added. PTI