SWINE FLU SCARE - Low-key Matmauli Yatra this year CAMIL PARKHE reporters@sakaaltimes.com Ahmednagar:
The government administration and the Catholic Church have jointly launched a series of measures to ensure a low key celebration of the forthcoming annual Matmauli Yatra at Haregaon in Shrirampur taluka to curb the spread of H1N1 virus among lakhs of faithful arriving from different parts of the state.Haregaon is described as Pandharpur of the Marathispeaking Christians who throng this village for the feast of Mother Mary, celebrated every year on the second Saturday and Sunday of September.
Significantly, this is the 61st year of the Matmauli Yatra launched by a German Jesuit Gerhard Baader for the benefit of poor faithful who could not afford to attend the Mount Mary feast at Bandra in Mumbai.
Over the years, the number of faithful attending the Yatra has swelled to around five lakh, creating tremendous pressures on the administration and the church. Incidentally, the Matmauli feast is the first major yatra in the rural sector in Maharashtra after the outbreak of the swine flu pandemic. Among the pilgrims from outside Ahmednagar district are those who come from neighbouring Pune, Aurangabad and Nashik districts and Mumbai which are among the areas worst affected by the H1N1 virus.
Speaking to Sakaal Times, Shrirampur tehsildar Chandrakant Devgune said that a meeting of the representatives of St Teresa Church, government officials and UndirgaonHaregaon village panchayat has unanimously decided to discourage people from descending on the village in large numbers.
Stalls near the entrance of the huge impressive St Teresa Church will be totally banned while no permission would be granted for funfair stalls at the yatra site. Strict action would be taken against those violating the orders, Devgune said. The state-level kabbadi tournament held on the second day of the feast has also been cancelled.
A meeting held in the village on Saturday to discuss steps to avoid large assembly during the yatra was attended by local sub-divisional officer Gitanjali Bawiskar, Devgune, local priests Fr Nolasco Gomes and Fr Gilbert Denis, and Deputy superintendent of Police Prakash Munde and sarpanch Gaikwad.
The meeting has appealed to outstation devotees not to organise padyatras to the pilgrim centre and not to camp there on September 12 night.Instead, the faithful have been urged to conduct the pilgrimage on any of the nine day of novena prayers preceding the feast in order to avoid rush on the feast day.
The priests in Ahmednagar as well as in Pune, Nashik and Aurangabad districts and elsewhere have also been urged to advise their parishioners not to flock to Haregaon on the feast day.
The government administration and the Catholic Church have jointly launched a series of measures to ensure a low key celebration of the forthcoming annual Matmauli Yatra at Haregaon in Shrirampur taluka to curb the spread of H1N1 virus among lakhs of faithful arriving from different parts of the state.Haregaon is described as Pandharpur of the Marathispeaking Christians who throng this village for the feast of Mother Mary, celebrated every year on the second Saturday and Sunday of September.
Significantly, this is the 61st year of the Matmauli Yatra launched by a German Jesuit Gerhard Baader for the benefit of poor faithful who could not afford to attend the Mount Mary feast at Bandra in Mumbai.
Over the years, the number of faithful attending the Yatra has swelled to around five lakh, creating tremendous pressures on the administration and the church. Incidentally, the Matmauli feast is the first major yatra in the rural sector in Maharashtra after the outbreak of the swine flu pandemic. Among the pilgrims from outside Ahmednagar district are those who come from neighbouring Pune, Aurangabad and Nashik districts and Mumbai which are among the areas worst affected by the H1N1 virus.
Speaking to Sakaal Times, Shrirampur tehsildar Chandrakant Devgune said that a meeting of the representatives of St Teresa Church, government officials and UndirgaonHaregaon village panchayat has unanimously decided to discourage people from descending on the village in large numbers.
Stalls near the entrance of the huge impressive St Teresa Church will be totally banned while no permission would be granted for funfair stalls at the yatra site. Strict action would be taken against those violating the orders, Devgune said. The state-level kabbadi tournament held on the second day of the feast has also been cancelled.
A meeting held in the village on Saturday to discuss steps to avoid large assembly during the yatra was attended by local sub-divisional officer Gitanjali Bawiskar, Devgune, local priests Fr Nolasco Gomes and Fr Gilbert Denis, and Deputy superintendent of Police Prakash Munde and sarpanch Gaikwad.
The meeting has appealed to outstation devotees not to organise padyatras to the pilgrim centre and not to camp there on September 12 night.Instead, the faithful have been urged to conduct the pilgrimage on any of the nine day of novena prayers preceding the feast in order to avoid rush on the feast day.
The priests in Ahmednagar as well as in Pune, Nashik and Aurangabad districts and elsewhere have also been urged to advise their parishioners not to flock to Haregaon on the feast day.
