R&DE (E) refuses chariot for palkhi procession from Alandi

TNN | Updated: Jun 5, 2017, 08.01 AM IST
PUNE: The Research and Development Establishment (Engineers), a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory, has decided to not provide its chariot for the annual Sant Dnyneshwar Maharaj palkhi procession that will be began on June 17.
Recently, an official communication in this regard was sent to the Shri Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Sansthan Trust (SDMST) in Alandi, which manages the procession.
Confirming the development, SDMST president Ajit Kulkarni said, “We have received a communication from the Research and Development Establishment (E) authorities stating that the chariot will not be given for the procession henceforth. They have not specified a reason. It is their entirely decision.”
According to Kulkarni, the particular chariot had been used for the procession between 2013 and 2015. “Last year, the laboratory’s authorities had cited that there was some technical glitch in the chariot and hence they could not provide it. Since the chariot is in their possession, we were not aware about its actual status,” Kulkarni added.
On June 13, 2012, a bullock drawing the chariot had died near Phulenagar at Vishrantwadi on the Pune-Alandi road. The weight of the old chariot was one of the reasons cited for the death. The chariot weighs about 4 tonnes.
Following the episode, the trust had requested authorities to construct a special, lighter chariot. Then Research and Development Establishment (E) director R Guruprasad sought requisite permission from the scientific adviser to the defence minister and took on the project
Commenting on the functioning of the chariot, a SDMST member said, “The new chariot was lighter and they had developed a mechanism wherein the battery-operated chariot would draw power when it traveled uphill and got charged while going downhill. Thus, reducing the bullock’s burden.”
Other members of the trust pointed out that the DRDO’s chariot had helped complete the procession smoothly. “Thousands of devotees would get injured as their legs would come under the wheels of the old chariot. But, the DRDO chariot had reduced this risk ,” a trust member explained. When contacted, Research and Development Establishment (E) director VV Parlikar refused to comment on the matter.