Modi Takes Hovercraft For ‘Jal-Pooja’ Of Shivaji Memorial 

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday travelled in an Indian Coast Guard hovercraft to perform a symbolic 'jal-pooja' for the proposed Rs 3,600 crore memorial of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The 'Shiv Smarak' is coming up in the Arabian Sea, around 1.5 km from Mumbai shoreline opposite Marine Drive. He was accompanied by Governor C.Vidyasagar Rao, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and others. Descendents of the great Maratha warrior, Udayan Raje Bhosale and Sambhaji Raje Bhosale were also present along with other dignitaries, as the large ICG hovercraft set off from the Girgaum Chowpatty on Saturday afternoon. At the spot in the Arabian Sea finalised for the project, where a makeshift floating mini-replica of the proposed memorial is, Modi poured water from a bronze vessel and threw some earth at the site to perform the 'jal-pooja'.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Mumbai by an IAF aircraft for a daylong visit to Maharashtra.

On his arrival at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport around noon, he was received by Maharashtra Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other senior officials. From the airport, Modi proceeded to Raigad to inaugurate the new campus of the SEBI's National Institute of Securities Markets in Panvel.