Ujjain : The local unit of SPAKAS paid tribute to Shaheed Park victims killed during the Bharat Bandh. Led by SPAKAS mentor and retired IAS officer, Hiralal Trivedi, candles were lit for the peace of departed souls. Akhil Bhartiya Brahmin society president Surendra Chaturvedi, scribe Anilsingh Chandel, Jiyalal Sharma and Hardayal Thakur were present with many members of the organisation. Divisional coordinator SPAKAS, Ashok Dube informed that SPAKAS organised such programmes in all the districts of the state.

Upper, backward and minority societies to hold meeting today

Akhil Bharatiya Brahmin Society president Surendra Chaturvedi informed that upper, backward and minority classes of the society had decided to hold a meeting on Sunday to consider the dilution of the SC/ST Atrocities Act by the apex court at 6pm, at Rajendra Jain Hall, Kshirsagar. Many social organizations will also take part in the meeting Chaturvedi said. Surendrasingh Arora, Abhay Maratha, Kutub Fatemi, Dinesh Shrivastava, Motilal Shrivastava, Pt Jiyalal Sharma, Lekhraj Khatri, Sultan Lala, Manaklal Giriya, Manish Manana, Ravi Prakash Langar and Nirdosh Nirbhay appealed to city dwellers to attend the meeting and present their views.

Patel supporters beat him up black and blue

Ujjain : Commotion prevailed at Meghdoot Resorts, Indore Road, Ujjain, on Saturday night when a youth threw ink on Gujarat’s Patidar community leader Hardik Patel.

Patel, who is on a state-wide tour to expose the so-called anti-farmer policies of the BJP government, was given an unceremonious reception, just before reaching the venue of a press conference. His trip is also an attempt to indirectly support the Congress party in view of the ensuing assembly elections.

The youth named Milind Gurjar, a resident of Patel Nagar, who was leading some youths and raising slogans against Hardik Patel allegedly threw ink on Patel’s face. However, the ink missed Patel’s face but on his clothes. Patel was accompanied by Youth Congress workers. Before the accused could disappear from the scene, Patel’s supporters beat him black and blue.

Later, the accused youth was handed over to the Nanakheda police authorities, who arrested him under relevant provisions of the IPC. Meanwhile, talking to the media, Hardik Patel levelled various allegations against Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, and indicated that he would soon start an extensive tour of Madhya Pradesh to expose the misdeeds of the BJP rule.

Ujjain: Stating that everyone, be it youth, farmers or workers, was suffering in the state, Patidar Aarakshan Andolan leader Hardik Patel on Sunday said that a new leader was the need of the hour. “State needs a new face who can end people’s suffering and protect people’s right.”

Talking to media, he openly backed Congress and declared that he was ready to share dais with Rahul Gandhi to bring about desired result. Taking a dig at Modi and BJP, Hardik said, “Modi does not favour Hindus. Had it been so, Ram Mandir would have been built by now.” He also had an advice for Modi. “Stop fighting Pakistan. Deal with the US and China. They are our real enemy.”

Sardar Patel was a Gurjar and not a Patidar- Milan

Milan Gurjar was beaten black and blue by the police for throwing ink on Hardik Patel. He had to spend the entire night in Civil Hospital. On Sunday, he was brought back to Nanakheda police station. Talking to media, he said, “I met Hardik in New Delhi during a programme.” He questioned Hardik’s claim that Sardar Patel was a patel. He claimed to have evidence to prove that Sardar Patel in fact belonged to Gurjar community. He also accused Hardik Patel of brainwashing youths for his selfish gains.

Ujjain: The three-day Lokraag Malwa Maach Mahotsav organised under joint aegis of Adivasi Lok Kala Evam Boli Vikas Academy and Ankur Rangmanch Samiti was inaugurated at Triveni Museum on Saturday. Nature, tradition and feasibility of Malwi folk dance Maach will be discussed in workshop and seminars.

A seminar on ‘Format, exhibition and craft of Maach’ was held in afternoon. It was attended by Malwi poet Dr Shiv Chairsiya, historian Dr Bhagavatilal Rajpurohit, Dr Shailendra Kumar Sharma, Dr Sarita McHarg and Hafiz Khan of New Delhi.

A play ‘Sudbud Salanga’ written by Guru Balmukund and directed by Mangilal Panwar was presented by artists of Hindi Vishram Maach Mandal in the evening. The programme began with the traditional lighting of lamp by Malwi poet Sultan Mama, Dr Bhagvatilal Rajpurohit, Prof Shailendra Sharma, Safiz Khan and Awadhesh Shrivastava.

On Sunday, a seminar on ‘Maach tradition, innovation and prospects’ was held. Dr Puran Sehgal, Dr Murlidhar Chadniwala, Ashok Vaqt, Dr Jagadish Chandra Sharma, Dr Prakash Karodiya and Babulal Deora expressed their views. Senior Malwi poet Pt Madanmohan Vyas was the guest of honour. He was also felicitated by Triveni museum and Premchand Srajan Peeth for his contribution to Malwi literature.

In the evening, play ‘Raja Harishchandra’ written by Late Siddheshwar Sen and directed by Babulal Dewda was presented by artists of Maa Brahmani Lokakala Maach Mandal.

Ujjain: A meeting of Parshuram Yuva Brahmin Sangathan was held at Ganga Garden on Sunday in lieu of grand vehicle rally on Parshuram Jayanti on April 18. About 10,000 Brahmins are expected to participate in the rally along with their families.

Pt Ajayshankar Joshi and Pt Devendra Purohit said that organisation’s founder president Pt Rajesh Trivedi presented outline of the rally. Organisational president Pt Girish Pathak presided over the event. Pt Shravan Sharma conducted the programme and Pt Yashwant Vyas proposed vote of thanks.

Pt Mahesh Pujari, Bhagwan Sharma, Rajendra Guru, JP Hardeniya, Anokhilal Sharma, Abhay Marathe, Dilip Sharma, Ashok Sharma, Hemant Vyas, Pramod Choubey, Maya Trivedi, Santosh Vyas, Shivendra Tiwari, Satish Sharma, Yash Sharma, Akash Tiwari, Devendra Pancholi, Sapna Guru, Vijay Sharma, Tarun Upadhyay, Manish Manana, Dr Rajendra Nagar and many others were present.

Ujjain: A ‘Dharmik Sanskar Shivir’ for kids was organised at Mahavir Bhawan on Sunday. Around 70 children participated in the camp and learned about religion from Mohanlal Pipda of Indore.

Sheetalraj Maharaj addressed the boys who adorned traditional white attire. The girls sat in a separate room. Sheetalrah Maharaj said that one should always remember Mahavir Swami. He asked children to respect elders like parents and teachers and pray daily.

The boys were presented with a bag by Rishi Jain and Archana Jain in memory of their father Bachhra Jain. Children who did not burst fire crackers on Diwali were also honoured by Navyuvak Sangh.

Sheetalraj Maharaj’s lecture was attended by many community members.  Vimalchand Mutha, Ramchandra Shrimal, Prakash Chandra Surya, Kantilal Bhatevra, Mitthulal Jain, Shremal Bhatevra, Anilkumar Bhatevra, Ankitkumar Bhatevara, Sanjay Shrimal and Sunil Gaurecha presented the prizes. Ajay Jain conducted the programme.

Ujjain: Samanta Andolan Sangharsh Samiti (SASS) held a press conference on Sunday to share aim of voluntary Ujjain Bandh scheduled for Tuesday. SASS convener Yashwant Agnihotri said that the Bandh is being organised in support of Supreme Court’s decision. He said that no rally will be taken out and shopkeepers will not be forced to down shutters.

He said that Supreme Court had only ordered that cases under the Prevention of Atrocities against Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes Act should be dealt with under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and had not amended the act. Agnihotri said that the Prevention of Atrocities Act did not follow the CrPC and arrested the accused immediately. The Supreme Court ordered that the CrPC should be followed and a person should be arrested only if found guilty. However, a few anti-national elements presented these orders wrongly to the people thus leading to chaos and unrest in the country, he added.

Agnihotri said that they have sought support for Tuesday’s Bharat Bandh through social media. He said that SASS does not support violence, nuisance and chaos and has called for a peaceful Bandh. The organization has appealed to the businessmen and common people to support bandh till 1 pm. This is completely optional. He said that SASS has received support from businessmen, student unions, public transportation and common man.

On being asked whether it was a counter reaction to the Bharat Bandh of April 2, Agnihotri said that it was not a counter reaction but an attempt to put forward thinking of general category. It is a way to show that general people support Supreme Court’s order. He also said that pleas and demands of general category often get suppressed. Bharat Sharma, Shivsingh Parihar and other members of SASS were also present in the press conference.

Ujjain: RSS vice-president Dattatreya Hosbale has said the intentions of the RSS have been grossly misconstrued in the process of working towards the Hindu ideology. Speaking at a lecture series organized at Madhav Seva Nyas, in memory of Dr Hedgewar, he stated assumptions that the RSS wanted to create a Hindu nation in which there was no place for Hindus and Muslims was a huge misconception.

“The RSS is not merely an organization but rather a philosophy and life style. We have never decried a place in our country for other religions. Every national organization should work to bring glory to the nation in every possible way. A country is not known by the development of human beings, large buildings and physical amenities but by the nature of people living in it” he added.

Addressing the audience, Hosbale said lectures were not an instrument for intellectual entertainment, but rather acted as guiding stones for the society. He said, “Dr Hedgewar believed in doing things and wanted to work for the betterment of the nation till his last breath”. Rajesh Singh Kushwah was also amongst the key note speakers.

The programme began with a Krishna prayer presented by Arun Patidar and Narendra Mandoriya presented a devotional song. Vijay Kevaliya introduced the guests and Rajesh Sahu gave the welcome speech. Sant Rangnathacharya presided over the programme. Ram Bhawalkar conducted the programme and Ashok Sharma proposed the vote of thanks.

Ujjain: On the second day of the ‘Lokraag Malwa Maach Mahotsav’ on Sunday, a seminar was held on the topic ‘Maach- tradition, innovation and prospects’. The key speaker of this session was Dr Puran Sehgal and other subject experts were Dr Murlidhar Chadniwala, Ashok Vaqt, Dr Jagadish Chandra Sharma, Dr Archana Parmar, Satish Dave and Dr Tripti Nagar.

 Senior Malwi poet Madanmohan Vyas, Premchand Srajan Peeth director Dr Jewan Singh Thakur, Triveni museum in-charge Awadhesh Shriwastava, Vikram University proctor Prof Shailendra Sharma, Anil Sharma, Dr Shweta Panchal, Sudama Saswar, Suresh Tripathi and Maach groups were present in the seminar. Dr Bherulal Malviya conducted the seminar.

 In the evening programme, senior Malwi poet Pt Madanmohan Vyas, was the guest of honour. He was also felicitated by the Triveni museum and Premchand Srajan Peeth for his contribution in the field of Malwi literature. A play ‘Raja Harishchandra’ written by Late Siddheshwar Sen and directed by Babulal Dewda was presented by artists of Maa Brahmani Lokakala Maach Mandal.

On Monday, a seminar was held on the topic “Houses of Maach and contribution of Maach artists”. In the evening, a play ‘Raja Bharthari’ written by Late Siddheshwar Sen and directed by Satyanarayan Barot was presented by the artists of Malipura Chhoti Maach Mandali.

Ujjain: The golden jubilee celebration of Maharashtriya Saraswat Samaj Nyas was held on Sunday. Several other programmes including release of a souvenir, felicitation of seniors, felicitation of talented children and youth, ‘Haldi-kumkum’ of women as well as cultural performances of children, were also organised. Community members from Bhopal, Ratlam, Dewas, Mumbai and Mandsaur also participated in the programme.

The golden jubilee celebration began with a lamp lighting ceremony by chief guest and former Judge of Jabalpur High Court Abhay Naik, and special invitee Jayant Bheese, honorary secretary of Sanad Nyas Indore. The guests were welcomed by Saraswat Samaj Nyas president Vijaykumar Pinge and Milind Panhalkar. Vinod Matvankar recited the souvenir released by guests.

Senior citizens were honored by Padmakar Kavthekar, Vijaykumar Pinge, Shyamrao Shiralkar, Shashikant Killedar, Subhash Pedhanekar, Shashikant Kothari, Bhalchandra Kekre, Dr Kailash Pedhanekar, Sandhya Shiralkar, Manisha Arondekar. Talented children and youth of the community were felicitated by Rochan Sontakke, Malay Sontakke and Nimisha Killadar. Milind Panhalkar was also felicitated for playing the role of a king in a movie. The Madhya Pradesh Police swimmers team present during the 2004 and 2016  Simhasth was also felicitated.

Vinod Matvankar and Suchitra Arondekar conducted the programme. Energy Minister Paras Jain and collector Sanket Bhondve were chief guests during the second session. In this session, artist Antra Killadar mesmerized everyone by singing Marathi and classical songs. Ashwina Rangnekar sang a bhajan dedicated to the community deity Lord Mangesh, leaving the audience spellbound.

Ujjain: Poet, writer and actor Piyush Mishra addressed serious issues of the country through poems and songs in the ‘Jantantra Sadan’ (open talk show), organised at Tower Square on Sunday.

Stating that the nation was asleep since independence and woke up only once in 5 years, he said, “I do not support either the BJP or Congress. I am simple tax-paying citizen who has never even broken traffic rules”. His meaningful songs about 26/11 terrorist attacks, rape of small girls and brainwashing of youths for protests and demonstrations were loved by the audience. Programme coordinator and Jai Ujjain convener, Chetan Yadav honoured Mishra by tying a turban on his head.

In this talk show, many public representatives voiced their views on the problems in the city, state and country. The jury consisting of Prakash Raghuwanshi, Dr Jitendra Bhatnagar, Pramod Chaubey, Brijmohan Gehlot, Dr KS Nagar and Dr Suresh Upadhyay listened to views of the proponents and approved proposals after getting unanimous approval from the supporters.

Giving a proposal of employment generation, a proponent said the city needed to promote employment oriented courses. A proposal to open medical college in the city was passed unanimously. Unavailability of basic infrastructure in Government schools was also pointed out. A proponent also pointed out that there was no national or regional level stadium in the city and the schools were charging sports fee without providing adequate facilities.

Pointing out that industries were a solution to unemployment, a proponent suggested that an industrial area should be developed on the land of Shri Synthetics. The development of Agar road industrial area was also proposed. Facilities, they suggested, should be enhanced in the city to promote international tourism. Supporters backed the proposal with suggestions like Malwa Jal Mahotsav and promoting the city as a wedding destination.

Former MLA Batukshankar Joshi also put forward the topic of increasing crimes against women. He said that around 33 such crimes had taken place in the city within a span of three months. He further said that people needed to enlighten their mentality instead of holding candle marches to opposing the incidents.

The jury also pointed out that there was a decline in law and order in the city, and reform efforts were needed.  Pankaj Yadav, Jubair Khan, Nishchal Yadav, Yogesh Vyas, Rajendra Bharti, Mahesh Soni, Devvrat Yadav, Sanjay Thakur, Pankaj Chandorkar, Maqsood Ali, Maya Trivedi, Rajesh Trivedi, Ashish Mehta, Priyanshi Rathore, Satish Pandey, Umesh Senger and many other people were present.

India undergoing political vacuum again

Speaking to the media at Hotel Anjushri-Inn on Monday afternoon, actor-lyricist-musician Piyush Mishra said freedom of speech and freedom of expression muddled out and obstacles created in the release of film ‘Padmawat, ’ despite clearance from the censor board of India, was glaring example of the sorry state of affairs of our country.

“I am not a political scientist, but notice a political vacuum which was prevalent in the pre-NDA government. I had a lot of trust on Narendra Modi, but now I am fed-up and people are dissatisfied at large with the performance of NDA government as nothing promising has done on the foreign policy front, internal security, employment generation, etc,” he said.

Mishra, who hails from Gwalior and joined the National School of Drama, Delhi in 1983 and switched over to Mumbai in 2003 where he got a lead role in the film ‘Gulal’ at the age of 46 years, said he did not believe in recommending anybody to Bollywood as it was up to budding artistes to prove their abilities. During the stay, he visited Mahakaleshwar Temple and left for Indore to take a flight to Mumbai in the evening.

Ujjain: The Akhil Bhartiya Ratrikaleen Tennis Ball Cricket Tournament was inaugurated at Damdama ground with colourful fireworks. Sixteen teams from all over the country are participating in the competition. This programme is being organized in memory of Shaheed Bhagat Singh by Shaheed Bhagat Singh Khel evam Samajik Sanstha.

The teams include those from Nashik, Nagpur, Godhra (Gujarat), Guna, Ashok Nagar and Bhopal. The cricket tournament will continue till April 15. The chief guests of the programme were Vibhash Upadhyay, Sanvar Patel, Kailash Bisen, KP Jhalla, Amay Apte, Atul Panwar and Prakash Yadav.

The guests garlanded the photo of Shahid Bhagat Singh. Tournament organiser Omar Khan, Amjad Khan and Manish Panwar welcomed the guests. The first match was played between Ujjain and Indore, in which the Ujjain team emerged victorious.

Ujjain: The Panchkroshi Yatra will start as scheduled from April 11 from the city. However, devotees began  thronging in to the city from Saturday and started their journey ahead of its scheduled date.

According to information received, over 600 devotees reached Nagchandreshwar temple to pay obeisance and moved on to complete their journey with enthusiasm and devotion. Priest Shailendra Sharma and Ajay Sharma of the temple stated that over 5000 devotees had already set out for the Panchkroshi Yatra by Monday.

According to priests, the Yatra should ideally begin on Baishakh Krishn Paksh, tithi ‘dashami’ as per the Hindu calendar. The ‘Panchkroshi yatris’ will reach to their first encampment at Pingleshwar soon, where facilities of potable water and eatables are being arranged by the administration. Devotees in huge numbers were seen at Dewas Gate bus stand, Railway station, Gopal Mandir and Mahakal areas.

Ahead of the Pankroshi Yatra, collector Sanket Bhondve instructed officials to arrange potable water facility every two kilometres en route the yatra. The health department was instructed to do fogging twice a day at camping areas to get rid of mosquitoes. The collector ordered maintaining cleanliness at halting points of the devotees, as well the yatra route. He also instructed to sprinkle water along the route to provide ease to pedestrians.

The CMHO was instructed to maintain stock of anti-venom injections for devotees along with other medicines and ambulances. The municipal corporation was instructed to deploy fire brigades. The collector said all facilities for differently abled and senior citizens would be provided during the yatra. The collector also directed the traffic department to place barricades on accident prone zones.

Devotees need pure water, not polluted water of the Kshipra

Criticising the administration over preparations of the Panchkroshi Yatra, Jila Panchayat vice president Bharat Porwal alleged that ahead of Panchkroshi Yatra, the administration did not take any measure to stop mixing of dirty and polluted water of river Kanh with the holy waters of river Kshipra. Porwal demanded to pump in water of the Narmada for devotees of during the Yatra.

Sindhu Youth federation welcomes devotees

Sindhu Youth federation welcomed devotees in the leadership of Mahesh Pariyani and served them salted buttermilk and arranged a grand feast. A federation functionary Naresh Dhanwani informed that Rajesh Ailani, Vikramsingh Jaat, Amit Kavadiya, Gopal Balwani, Kishan Bhatiya and hundreds of volunteers of the federation took part in serving the devotees.

Mobile application to be used for health check up of devotees   

The spokesperson of RD Gardi Medical College Priyank Soni informed that 20 members team of the nursing staff of RD Gardi Medical College would do a medical check up of over 1000 yatris daily during the Yatra through a specific mobile application and would provide treatment accordingly.  The check up report will be sent to CMHO office daily he added.

Ujjain: Alimco’s city unit which manufactures artificial organs will be inaugurated on April 21 at 11am. Union minister for social justice Thawarchand Gehlot said the inauguration would be marked by an employment fair for differently abled people, in which over 40 organisations will hold a campus drive for selecting disabled persons.

The Union minister said for 29 posts vacant in the organization, 11 persons were found suitable and appointed, while for rest of the vacant posts, the organisation would publish an advertisement again. Alimco also will start an empowerment centre for such persons in addition to providing a loan facility to purchase equipments for self employment, he said.

Gehlot inspected under construction unit of the organization and instructed officials concerned about the construction of Tricycle plant shed and observed units of Tripod and sticks manufacturing units.. MLA Satish Malviya, speaker Sonu Gehlot, BJP district head Iqbalsingh Gandhi and Sachin Saxena were present.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, minister in-charge Bhupendra Singh and State minister for social justice Gopal Bhargava will be present during the inauguration programme.

Union social ministry for justice sanctions 5 lifts

The minister said that Union social ministry for justice sanctioned 5 lifts for the city costing Rs 2,12,14000. These lifts will be specifically installed for differently abled persons. Union minister Gehlot further said the lifts will be installed in Kothi Palace, Simhastha Fair Authority office, the Court and administrative offices of Shri Mahakaleshwar Temple for differently abled persons.

Ujjain: A 30 day horse riding camp organised by Ujjain Horse Riding Club began on Tuesday.  Beginners joining the camp will be given training of three trick walks, cater and trot, while the advanced rider will be given training in jumping and polo.

According to Club President Anil Jain, MLA Dr Mohan Yadav inaugurated the camp by riding a horse. Senior social activist Sagar Chand Jain presided over the camp. Police Training School DSP Bhupinder Singh Rathore was the special guest.

National Player Sheikh M Uber, will provide training through five thorough bred horses. The timing of the camp will be 6 am to 9 am and 5 pm to 7 pm. Three to sixty year olds will be trained in the camp, which began at Kamal Sagar Palace on Indore Road.

Attempting to highlight the plight of the horses, Jain said there was a time when the horse was considered a vehicle of Gods and the favourite game of kings was horse riding. “These days horses lead a very miserable life. When they cannot participate in a race, they are shot. Therefore, we want to build a place where horses will be free to roam around and there will be no danger to their lives”, he added.

Ujjain: Madhya Pradesh Clerical Staff Employees Union (MPCSEU) will be on a two-day group leave on Thursday and Friday. Clerical staff and class four employees of all departments of the district, have handed over their leave application to institution heads.

The Union’s district president Dinesh Gothwal informed that the clerical staff have been demanding removal of discrepancies in salary for the past several years but the Government had failed to take any action despite assurances. Twenty three recommendations in this regard will be given by MPCSEU President Ramesh Chandra Sharma to the Government.

Madhya Pradesh Clerical Government Employees Union, Madhya Pradesh Ministerial staff Union, Madhya Pradesh Class Three Government Employees Union and Regional Government Revenue Workers Union have jointly called for this two day leave.

Ujjain: Senior journalist Vivek Ghalsasi presented a lecture underlining family ties and its role in grooming future generations, on the second day of lecture series, organised by Dr Hedgewar Janm Shatabdi Smriti Seva Nyas, in the memory of Dr Hedgewar at Madhav Seva Nyas.

Addressing the audience on the topic ‘Family – the centre of human creation’, Ghalsasi said in India, the work of building the character of a man was done by the family. “The goal of a family is human creation and this goal was set by our ancestors, mystics and sages several years ago”.

Calling the present generation houses shelter homes, Ghalsasi said in spite of adequate resources and facilities, there was a feeling of emptiness in the concept of a family these days. “A house cannot be created just by putting up photos of Gods or saints or planting a Tulsi plant. The sense of love and dedication for each other is also necessary”, he added.

“Capability to give something to future generations is much more important for a husband and wife than their physical abilities, as the ultimate goal of a family is to give the nation a well brought up human being”. He rued that within new generation families, no one had the time to think about anything.

He added “The family should also have a constitution. Parents cannot run the family as preachers or police officers. The seven qualities required to become a good human being can be taught only by the family. These qualities are gratitude, mutualism, interdependence, ability to sacrifice, prestige of labour, self control and great respect for other human beings”, he added.

Balyogi Umeshnath Maharaj presided over the programme. Kishor Chandan introduced the guests. The welcome speech was given by Ajaysingh Kushwah and Gorelal Parmar. Pankaj Tavse conducted the programme and Vivek Sankhla proposed the vote of thanks.

Ujjain: The three day Lokraag Malwa Maach mahotsav concluded on Monday, with a seminar on the topic ‘Houses of Maach and contribution of Maach artists’ being held. Subject experts Dr Puran Sehgal, Hafiz Khan, Prof Shailendra Kumar Sharma, Krishna Verma and Awadhesh Shriwastava expressed their views in the seminar.

Presiding over the seminar, Dr Shiv Chaurasia stated that Maach was a form of pure entertainment and not just a waste of time. Experts pointed out the dire need to save the dying art. Dr Shweta Pandya conducted the seminar. Veera Joshi, Ravindra Deolekar, Jagroop Singh and Maach groups were present in the seminar.

In the evening, the play ‘Raja Bharthari’ written by Late Siddheshwar Sen and directed by Satyanarayan Barot was presented by artistes of Malipura Chhoti Maach Mandali. The chief guest was Ujjain Municipal Corporation speaker Sonu Gehlot. Barot was felicitated by guests Sanskar Bharti chief Shripad Joshi, Dr Puran Sehgal, Hafiz Khan, Prof Shailendra Kumar Sharma and Awadhesh Shriwastava. Artistes were also presented with citations.

Ujjain: The Panchkroshi Yatra will officially begin today. Devotees will begin the journey from Nagchandreshwar Mahadev Temple and cover a distance of 118 km on foot. The administration has made several arrangements for the convenience of the devotees.

Some people have already begun their journey and started reaching the encampments. As per the instructions of the collector Sanket Bhondve, the administration has already made all the arrangements at encampment points. Enquiry centers, medicine distribution centers, control rooms, lost and found centers and fair price shops have been set up in several places.

In addition, fire brigades and ambulances have also been deployed for emergency. Arrangements of shower for devotees to bathe, cold drinking water by PHED , buttermilk, lassi, shrikhand and other cold drinks have been arranged by the Madhya Pradesh Cooperative Milk Union.

Some devotees said the arrangements made by the administration have been improving with every year. They informed that all necessary items like food, cold drinking water, medicines, beds and even grocery items were made available. Medical centers set up by the health department have ORS, paracetamol, B-complex and medicines for asthma, head ache, stomach pain and other seasonal illnesses.

These medicines are being given free of cost. A free Ayurvedic medicine distribution center has also been set up at the Karohan encampment. At the fair price shops too, grocery items are available at reasonable prices. Due to this, many aged devotees are able to complete the journey without having to carry heavy bags of grocery items required daily.

Ujjain:  The SPAKS organised ‘Bharat Bandh’ received a huge support in the city and all over the country on Tuesday. City markets witnessed a deserted look, as all the shops were closed willingly.

Upper castes, minority, backward classes and many other groups belonging to different castes observed the ‘Bharat Bandh’ to support the apex court’s dilution of the SC/ST Anti Atrocities Act, in the interest of justice and curbing misuse of the act.

SPAKS members demanded reservation for economically weaker sections of society. Members of all the organisations related to upper castes, backward castes and other minorities gathered at Chhatri Chowk at 9.30am and held a peace march to Shri Mahakaleshwar Temple. People joined the rally and demanded that the decision of the apex court be respected, and reservation be based on the economic conditions of the beneficiary. They also demanded to stop ignoring general and backward classes of society.

During the rally Akhil Bhartiya Brahmin Samaj president Surendra Chaturvedi, Shivendra Tiwari, Dr Ghanshyam Sharma, Amrish Pathak, Akhil Bhartiya Kshatriya Mahasabha general secretary Anilsingh Chandel, Hardayalsingh Thakur, Sikh community head Surendrasingh Arora, US Chhabra, Kutub Fatemi, Hatimali Arharwala, Dinesh Shrivastava of Kayastha community,  Dinesh Shrivastava, Shailendra Vyas, saint Avadheshpuriji, Nisha Tripathi, Dhaneshwari Joshi, Arvind Jain and hundreds of supporters were present. Women also were seen in the rally holding placards with demands.

Businessmen shut their shops willingly. Shopkeepers at Gopal Mandir, Mahakal, Doulatgnaj, Indore Gate, Dewas Gate, Freeganj, Rishi Nagar and many areas of the city closed their shops in support of the ‘peaceful bandh’. A rally was held peacefully and no untoward instance was reported during the ‘bandh’ in the city.

The district administration remained on high alert all the day. The SPAKS was covered by a huge police force. SDM GS Dabur, SDM Kshitij Sharma,SP Sachin Atulkar and many police officials were also present in the  rally to maintain law and order. Members of the SPAKS ‘rendered’ a memorandum of their demands to Lord Mahakal. Schools and colleges of the city remained open during the ‘bandh’.