Mithi water to ‘consecrate’ Shivaji statue

Mumbai: Water from the Mithi river will also be part of the mix of river water that would be used for the ‘jal abhishek’ of the Shivaji memorial to come up in the Arabian Sea. According to senior leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the water from Mumbai that would be mixed with water from rivers across the state would include water from Mithi and Poisar rivers and even the Banganga tank.

Sanjay Upadhyay, secretary, Maharashtra BJP, claimed that in the past two days, several meetings in this regard have taken place. “Water from all the rivers is being brought for the jal abhishek of the Shivaji statue. So from Mumbai, all rivers including Mithi, Poisar and others will also be taken,” said Mr Upadhyay.

On Friday, the BJP has decided to have a chariot in Chembur where all the collected water would be kept around 10 am, and from there the chariot will move to Gateway of India, where the chief minister would accept the water, which would then be merged with water from all rivers in the state.

“We have asked all the district leaders to get the river water and put them together for the jal abhishek. Shivaji Maharaj belonged to everyone, and this will help us connect the whole state with the memorial,” said Mr Upadhyay. Apart from water, the BJP is also collecting sand from various forts. “We will be collecting sand from forts like Mahim, Sewree and others, and all this will be mixed with sand from other forts in the state that the other leaders are going to bring,” he said.

Meanwhile, the leader clarified that the water won’t be polluted water from Mithi river or any other place and instead would be from the Vihar lake, which is allegedly from where the river originates. A BJP MLA from Dahisar, meanwhile, has decided to collect water from all religious places in her constituency for the same purpose.