Tribals converge to see Advani and his 'rath' in Thane tomorrow

Thane, Apr 8 (UNI) Tribals from across the district have started congregating at the tiny Acchad village in Talasari taluka of the district where senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani will arrive tomorrow as a part of his ongoing Bharat Suraksha Yatra.

Ironically, even as many of the tribals do not even know what they expect from the BJP leader during his visit, they just said that they, along with their families, are marching, trekking down the hills and walking on roads in the scorching heat to Acchad as ''a political leader is coming there'' and they want to see the ''rath'' (chariot) on which he travels.

A tribal, walking towards the village, told UNI at Wada that ''rath hai, meeting hai, amhi thithe challo hai (A 'rath' is coming, there is a meeting and we are going there).'' A number of tribals also said they are eager to listen to Mr Advani's message for them, which would be translated on the spot in the local language, by a local leader.

The village and the roads through which the BJP leader will pass already bear a 'saffron' look as they have been decorated with arches, banners, posters and saffron flags giving the place a festive look.

After entering the State through this small village on the Gujarat-Maharashtra border, Mr Advani is slated to address a rally at Charoti town in Dahanu tehsil of Thane district in the afternoon. After that, he will proceed to Mumbai.

In fact, almost two years back, a large number of tribals had come up here from far off places of the district to catch a glimpse of the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, when he passed through the place to address an election rally at Jawhar.

Meanwhile, the entire district is gearing up to receive Mr Advani's 'rath' tomorrow and a grand function is being organised in Acchad by the BJP state unit to welcome their leader.

Senior party leaders including district president Manisha Chowdhari, Konkan region chief Sanjay Kelkar, former MP Chintaman Wanga and senior leader and former National Council member Omprakashji Sharma have been busy making arrangements for the yatra to be a success here.

Mr Sharma said they are expecting over a lakh people to attend Mr Advani's public rally at Charoti.

Also, Thane police have been making strict security arrangements and senior police officials, including Thane DSP Archana Tyagi (Sharma) and DIG, Konkan Range Dr Satyapal Singh, are already camping in Talasari to the arramgements for a peaceful yatra.

All the petrol pumps and joints along the Expressway, through which the yatra will pass are being combed and all those indulging in any criminal act or creating disturbance have been booked.

The Expressway is also expected to be blocked for some time when the yatra passes through it tomorrow.

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