New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Maharashtra on Tuesday during which he will inaugurate the Jal Bhushan Building and Gallery of Revolutionaries at the Raj Bhawan in Mumbai and the Jagatguru Shrisant Tukaram Maharaj Temple in Dehu, Pune. “Jal Bhushan has been the official residence of the Governor of Maharashtra since 1885,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a release.
“Upon completing its lifespan, it was demolished and a new building was sanctioned in its place,” the release added.
The foundation stone for the new building was laid by the President of India in August 2019.
“All distinctive features of the old building have been preserved in the newly constructed building,” the release said.
Vidyasagar Rao, the then Governor of Maharashtra, had in 2016 found a bunker in the Raj Bhawan.
“It had earlier been used by Britishers as a secret storage for arms and ammunition. The bunker was renovated in 2019. The Gallery has been developed in the bunker as a one of its kind museum, to commemorate the contributions of freedom fighters and revolutionaries of Maharashtra,” the PMO said.
“It offers tributes to the contributions of Vasudev Balwant Phadke, the Chaphekar brothers, Savarkar brothers, Madam Bhikaji Cama, V B Gogate, Naval Mutiny in 1946, among others,” the release added.
The Prime Minister will participate in Dwishatabdi Mahotsav of Mumbai Samachar at Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex at around 6 p.m.
“The printing of Mumbai Samachar as a weekly was started on 1st July, 1822, by Fardunjee Marzbanji. It later on became a daily in 1832,” the PMO said.
“The newspaper has been published continuously for 200 years. To commemorate this unique feat, a postal stamp will also be released on the occasion,” the release added.
The PMO said Sant Tukaram was a Warkari saint and poet, famously known for Abhanga devotional poetry and community-oriented worship through spiritual songs known as Kirtans,
“He lived in Dehu. A Shila Mandir was built after his demise, but it was not formally structured as a Temple. It has been rebuilt in stone masonry with 36 peaks, and also carries an idol of Sant Tukaram,” the release added.