Mumbai, Feb 27 – A full-fledged museum will be set up in Junnar, Pune, to mark the ongoing 350th year celebrations of the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who laid the foundation for ‘Hindavi Swaraj’, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said here on Tuesday.
In his Interim Budget 2024-2025 speech, Ajit Pawar said that last year, the people of Maharashtra celebrated the 394th birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj with the grand ‘Hindavi Swarajya Mahotsav 2024’, depicting the glorious history of the state in Junnar.
Now, the government will set up a Shivneri Museum based on the life of the Chhatrapati at Vadaj, Junnar, comprising the facets of the great Maratha warrior king, a model village, replicas of his forts, an amphitheatre and other attractions.
Besides, many other events are going on across the state to mark the rule of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj this year, with many countries across the world adopting his model of ‘good governance’.
“The Central government has sent a proposal to the UNESCO for conferring the status of world heritage site to 11 forts in Maharashtra, which witnessed the bravery of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,” said Ajit Pawar.
The government had disbursed ‘Anandacha Shidha’, a food-kit at concessional rates, to nearly 1.59 crore families through the public distribution scheme, and the same will be continued as part of the Chhatrapati’s coronation anniversary and the Ram Temple inauguration in Ayodhya last month.
Simultaneously, the government has approved a Rs 270 crore development plan for a monument in Tulapur, where Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was martyred, and at his samadhi in Vadhu-Budruk, both in Pune. The work for the project has already commenced.
The government will also make available land for a memorial for Veer Jiva Mahala – a brave warrior and faithful lieutenant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj – at the base of the Pratapgad Fort in Satara.
The government has approved a memorial development plan of nearly Rs 30 crore for Rajmata Sai Bhosale – the first wife of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj – at the base of the Rajgad Fort, where she breathed her last in September 1659 aged 26.
The state government has already announced grand celebrations at the 2,700-feet high Raigad Fort and other places on June 6 this year, the day when the coronation took place 350 years ago. For the past few months, many top dignitaries have been thronging the hilltop fort to pay respects to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
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