Maharashtra government to give pension for Warkaris

MUMBAI: In a bid to woo the

Healing community

ahead of the

assembly polls

the state government has announced that it will give pensions to senior citizens who walk in traditional month-long waris (an annual pilgrimage dedicated to Lord Vithal in Solapur) to

Pandharpur

.
In the budget, the state government announced that Mukhya Mantri Varkari Sampradaya Mahamandal will be established to provide facilities to Kirtankars, Warkaris, Bhajani Mandals as well as to manage the Palkhi routes.

The

pension

move is being seen as significant ahead of the state assembly polls likely to be held in October especially as the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) looks to woo the community with NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar and Congress’s Rahul Gandhi likely to participate in the wari.
In a recent Government Resolution (GR) the state government has allocated Rs 50 crore as start-up capital to the new Warkari corporation that will be headquartered in Pandharpur. However the exact details of the pension amount are not mentioned in the GR and the new corporation will finalise the details on eligibility and amount.
The government has decided to provide a fund of Rs 20,000 rupees per Dindi (group of devotees) from this year. Rs 36.71 crores has been made available for “Nirmal Vari”, a drive for providing portable toilets on the pilgrimage routes.

Lakhs of Warkaris undertake a 21-day foot journey to Pandharpur. “The Warkari community has a significant following in rural areas. It is reported that senior Congress functionaries have asked Rahul Gandhi to walk with the warkaris. Even Sharad Pawar may join the pilgrimage. So the MahaYuti doesn’t want to be seen as leaving the community out. The Warkari movement has its roots in the Bhakti tradition. It can be traced back to the 17th-century saint Sant Tukaram Maharaj from Dehu. Every year lakhs of Warkaris walk to the Vithoba temple in Pandharpur from Alandi and Dehu before Ashadi Ekadashi. The wari attracts people from all communities and castes,” said a political observer.
“Devotees from all over Maharashtra flock together to bow before Shri Vitthala, the deity of Maharashtra. Palkhi of Jagadguru Sant Tukaram Maharaj is departing from Dehu today. Palkhi of Dnyaneshwar Mauli will leave from Alandi on Saturday. This government is aware that the umbilical cord of Maharashtra is connected with this Vaari of Varkari Bhaktimarga, which has a tradition of about thousand years, therefore we are sending a proposal to UNESCO for the World Heritage nomination of Pandharpur wari, which is recognized worldwide as the identity of Maharashtra. The government has decided to provide a fund of 20,000 rupees per Dindi from this year, in gratitude to the lakhs of Varkaris who carry the flag of our tradition on their shoulders,” DCM Ajit Pawar had said in his budget speech.