Thane, Apr 15 (PTI) Elaborate arrangements have been made for the Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony at the sprawling Corporate Park in Kharghar in Navi Mumbai as the state government expects a crowd of 15 to 20 lakh on Sunday.

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The Maharashtra Bhushan award will be conferred in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on activist and social reformer Appasaheb Dharmadhikari, who has a massive following in the state due to his tree plantation drives, blood donation and medical camps as well as de-addiction work in tribal areas.

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In an official release, the state government said 250 water tankers and 2,100 taps have been installed at the venue, along with 69 ambulances, 350 doctors, 100 nurses, 32 mobile toilets, 4,200 portable toilets and 9,000 temporary toilets.

It said 4,000 sanitary workers have been deployed at the site as well as 60 jetting machines for deep cleaning, 26 fire engines and massive parking lots have been earmarked at 22 spots, it added.

More than 600 volunteers and 200 workers will be available at the site to take care of arrangements at the mega function, it said.

The state transport department has already banned heavy vehicles like dumpers, trucks, tankers, multi-axle 16 tonne-plus trailers on the Kharghar to Insuli stretch of Mumbai Goa highway number 66, the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, the Mumbai-Pune old highway and the Ahmedabad-Mumbai highway on Saturday and Sunday.

Central Railway has announced it has cancelled a 'mega block' (a period of train traffic curbs to carry out engineering and maintenance works on the tracks and overhead equipment) scheduled for Harbour Line scheduled for Sunday. The CSMT-Panvel Harbour Line connects Mumbai to Navi Mumbai and further to parts of Raigad district.

As per an order issued on Friday by the state government, 15-20 lakh followers of Dharmadhikari are expected to attend the ceremony after coming in from all parts of the state, including Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Pune, Dhule, Jalgaon, Nashik, Mumbai and Thane, on private vehicles, state transport (ST) buses and trains.

A video that was widely circulated on social media during the day showed Dharmadhikari, who hails from Revdanda near Alibag, arriving in Navi Mumbai through the sea route with his kin, including grandchildren.

Navi Mumbai and other parts of Thane district bore a festive look with flower 'rangolis' and massive hoardings along the roads informing about the event and welcoming dignitaries and citizens.

An official said a helicopter will be used to shower flower petals on Dharmadhikari and others at the venue.

Thirty committees have been formed to ensure the function is a grand success and the massive crowd that is expected is not put to any discomfort, he added.

The Maharashtra Bhushan award was instituted when the Shiv Sena- BJP alliance came to power in 1995.

It was initially conferred to personalities in the fields of Literature, Sports and Science, before being expanded to include those from Social Work, Journalism, Public Administration and Health Services.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)