Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (JS)
Mangaluru, Feb 28: On the eve of the mega Virat Hindu Samajotsava scheduled to be held on Sunday March 1 at Nehru Maidan as part of the golden jubilee celebrations of Visha Hindu Parishad (VHP), the organizers said that all arrangements were in place and urged the public to uphold peace and cooperate.
Addressing a press meet organized by the VHP golden jubilee committee and Hindu Samajotsava committee here on Saturday February 28, S Ganesh Rao, honorary president of the Hindu Samajotsava commitee urged people to maintain peace and help in making the Samajotsava successful.
"As we all know, all the arrangements for Samajotsava are in place. We want the event to be held peacefullly within the boundaries of the Constitution. This is our Samajotsava. This is not to offend anyone or spread hatred. We want this to happen in a organized way," he added.
"The 'shobha yatra' will start sharp at 2.30 pm from Dr Ambedkar circle and the programme will end latest by 5.45 pm as promised to the district administration. The city is shining with vibrant saffron colour. The district administration has already made all the neccesary arrangements. Let us spread the message of peace and harmony to the society. All Hindus are one and united."
Jitendra Kottari, chief secretary of VHP said, "Over 1 lac people are expected to be part of tommorow's event. We have arranged chairs for about 5,000 VIPs and elderly people, while the rest will have to sit on the ground on sheets of paper which they will need to bring along. Cold drinks will be provided at the venue and people can bring drinking water if they want to. We have arranged 400 buses and every bus will have one VHP member. Also, we have 150 volunteers looking after the smooth functioning of the programme.
"No one should react if some unpleasant incident occurs. We have to just inform the police and they will take necessary action. The district administration has deployed tight security and as many as 700 cameras have been installed. Paramilitary forces have also been deployed. People should not take this wrongly. These are all for ensuring security. We urge people to maintain peace," he said.
VHP Karnataka province working president M B Puranik, vice-president Jagadish Shenava and Raj Gopal were present.