Hazare reaches Mumbai ahead of fast

Right activist Anna Hazare reached Mumbai on Monday night from his native village in Ahmednagar district for his three-day fast beginning in the city on Tuesday against the government's "weak" Lokpal Bill.

    
The Gandhian checked in at the state government guest house in suburban Bandra at 8.45 PM. He would stay there overnight before arriving at the fast venue.
    
Earlier, hundreds of villagers gathered to see him off at Ralegan Siddhi as he left by road for Alandi, where he paid tributes at Sant Dnyaneshwar Samadhi before reaching Mumbai.
    
To a query on his health, a Hazare said, "I'm fine".
    
He refused to take further questions from the media saying, "I'll be talking to you for the next three days."
   
Incidentally, the guest house is near the residence of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, whose party has been opposing Hazare on the Lokpal Bill.
    
Tomorrow morning, Hazare will go to the Juhu beach where there is a statue of Mahatma Gandhi and take his blessings. He will be later escorted to the fast venue -- the MMRDA ground at suburban Bandra-Kurla Complex -- by a motorbike rally.
    
The anti-graft crusader will begin his fast from 11 AM.
    
Key members of his team, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi, are scheduled to fast with Hazare in Mumbai, while some others will undertake the fast in Delhi.

Earlier, Mumbai police throw a tight security cover around the MMRDA grounds in suburban Bandra-Kurla Complex where Anna Hazare will commence his three-day fast from tomorrow.

Bomb detection and disposal squads and units of Quick Response Team are being put in place.

Maharashtra Additional Chief Secretary (Home) U C Sarangi chaired a high-level meeting to take an overall review of the law and order situation and the security drill in the city on the eve of Hazare's fast for a 'strong' Lokpal bill.
    
"We took stock of the overall security review for maintaining law and order. No additional force has been sought as of now," he told reporters emerging out of the meeting also attended by top officials including DGP K Subramanium and Mumbai police chief Arup Patnak.
    
"Access control to the venue will be in place. All speeches made will be monitored and loudspeaker restrictions will be in place after 2200 hrs," said Sarangi.
    
Around 2,000 constables, 200 sub-inspectors of police, six platoons of state reserve police force, three teams of Quick Response Team and two Bomb Detection and Disposal Squads will keep a hawk's vigil at the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) grounds to ensure there was no law and order problem.
    
The ground will have six emergency exits, 16 fire extinguishers and six metal detector units, besides round-the-clock ambulance services.

The Maharashtra government assured the Centre that all necessary arrangements are being taken for Hazare's security.