Thane, The ‘Hind-Di-Chadar’ commemoration commenced on Saturday in Kharghar area of Navi Mumbai amid elaborate arrangements by the Maharashtra government, with over 15 lakh devotees expected to attend the two-day event.
The congregation, marking the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur, is organised at Owe Ground in Sector 29.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to address the gathering on Sunday, officials said. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde and other ministers, legislators, and Sikh religious figures will also attend.
On the first day, an elaborate langar was organised for devotees, while a health camp was also set up to provide medical assistance.
Banjara women presented traditional dance performances, adding cultural fervour to the religious congregation.
The state government has undertaken extensive multi-agency planning for the programme.
Principal Secretary Shrikar Pardeshi earlier chaired a high-level review meeting and directed departments to coordinate closely to ensure smooth conduct of the event.
According to officials, the Owe Maidan venue can accommodate around five lakh devotees at a time, with seating arrangements for nearly 80,000 people in the main pavilion.
Authorities have implemented a special traffic management plan, identifying 30 parking sites and constructing a temporary bridge at Kopra to ease vehicular movement. A dedicated pedestrian pathway has also been created from state transport bus drop-off points to the venue.
Police have deployed CCTV surveillance, a central control room and volunteers to maintain security.
Health infrastructure includes temporary medical centres, an ICU facility at the venue and reserved beds in nearby hospitals. Special arrangements for sanitation, drinking water, electricity and distribution of water bottles have also been made, organisers said.
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