Mumbai:
Thousands of followers of BR Ambedkar on Tuesday gathered at Dadar in south central Mumbai to pay homage to the architect of the constitution on his 55th death anniversary.
People stood in long queues since early morning on the road leading to Chaitya Bhoomi where Ambedkar was cremated in 1956. It is the memorial to the leader near Dadar railway station.
Various stalls ranging from art and craft items to books to cassettes and CDs of songs about Ambedkar were displayed at the venue. Paintings of the leader and his higher education degrees from Columbia University and London were also displayed.
As the death anniversary of Ambedkar and the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram fell on the same day, the Mumbai Police put in place tight security arrangements to prevent any untoward incidents.
"Huge crowds throng Chaitya Bhoomi in Dadar to pay homage to Ambedkar on this day. We sanitised the area and carried out anti-sabotage checks, keeping in mind the crowd and the possibility of threat from anti-national elements," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Nisar Tamboli.
Additional manpower from the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF), Riot Control Police (RCP), Rapid Action Force (RAF) Mumbai's reserve police force was also deployed on the occasion.
Quick Response Team (QRT) commandos were deployed at the venue, Tamboli said, adding that a mobile vehicle scanned passing and stationary cars.
The traffic police made arrangements on roads leading to the venue from the railway station as a majority of visitors came from outside the city.