As the waris begin day seven of the pilgrimage on Palkhi Marg, from Saswad to Jejuri, the journey gets acutely tougher. It's not the distance, or the fatigue, but the sheer lack of basic facilities on the route, which is bereft of both natural and manmade conveniences, that pilgrims had previously availed enroute this stretch. Mobile toilets, dustbins, roadside medical camps and even the shade under trees, all of this miraculously disappears once the wari leaves Pune city and ventures into the rural area. Saswad to Jejuri, on Thursday, saw lakhs of waris, at the mercy of the harsh sun or the intermittent rains, trudging on, relieving themselves in the enroute, eating their meals in the open, or catching a quick nap under a parked truck or bus, which is the only shade available. In November 2021 Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone for the Palkhi Marg that comprised two roads— one, the four-lane 176 km Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Palkhi Marg from Hadapsar-Diveghar to Mohol, and the second the 102-km Sant Tukaram Maharaj Palkhi Marg from Patas to Tondale-Bondale. The project was planned to provide innumerable facilities and was allocated a huge budget to ease the pilgrimage experience for lakhs of devotees who undertake the 21-day Pandharpur yatra every year. However, this was far from the experience as reported by the pilgrims. Varsha Patil (42) who has been walking the wari from Alandi to Pandharpur, balancing a tulsi plant on her head, said, "It's been like this for many years now. There is no change on this route except for wider roads and disappearance of trees. "Up till Pune we had all facilities and comforts, but on this particular road we have had to search for places to relieve ourselves or just find a little shade to take rest. We just take the Vithal's name and move on," she says. Anupama Singh (54), for whom this was the first wari, said that while she loved soaking in the vibe and walking along with the palkhi, she was taken aback to find zero toilet facilities on the 17-km route from Saswad to Jejuri. She also suffered severe sunburn enroute. “The piety of lakhs of people is admirable but the roads are barren. There are no trees lining them. While the dindis make arrangements for food and water, there is simply no place for anyone to rest and recoup during the walk." However, the district administration, on a different note, said it has increased basic facilities for pilgrims from what it was in the past and would further increase the number of amenities. "Around 3,000 government employees have been deputed on the wari route. As many as 1,800 mobile toilets have been provided for Dnyaneshwar Maharaj palkhi route, as many as 1,200 for Tukaram Maharaj Palkhi route and 250 for Sopan Maharaj Palkhi route," he said. This had been reviewed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, he said. Moreover, 200 water tankers were pressed into service and water refilling stations were set up at 45 locations, he said, and 112 medical officers, 179 ambulances too have been deputed for medical services. The Palkhi Marg is under construction and is being further developed, he said, with roads already having been widened, and plans to gradually plant trees along the route.
