Mumbai: Mumbai is gearing up for communal chhat puja celebrations due to begin on Monday evening. This is a proposition that is giving the jitters to the law and order forces because of the recent attacks on north Indians by the MNS.
Many women have come all the way from villages in Bihar to Mumbai to perform Chhat puja by the Arabian Sea and though the festival has born the brunt of much controversy since the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena objected to its celebration in Mumbai they are not scared of becoming political targets.
“We have come here to worship God, to do god's work...we have full faith that no one will do anything to us,” says Chhat puja devotee, Gayatri.
But the police are not relying on faith alone to maintain law and order during the festivities they have all preparations made and enough man power employed to maintain calm.
As the Chhat puja preperations continue in full swing at the Juhu beach, perhaps one saving grace is the MNS chief Raj Thackeray's recent assurance that there will be no violence.
The organisers are expecting a crowd of five lakhs to turn up for the chhat puja festivities on Juhu beach. But even if a fraction of that materialises, it is going to be an uphill task for the police to maintain law and order and for the BMC to clean up, after the devotees leave.
Comments
0 comment