Ganesh mandal to reroute procession to avoid overload on bridge

The idol will be brought from a workshop at Arthur Road by a few members of the mandal; they have assured the BMC and traffic police that the bridge would not be crowded

After being told by the BMC that heavy vehicles weighing only 16 tonnes will be allowed on the Chinchpokli road over bridge (ROB) - that has been reported to be in a poor state by Indian Institutes of Technology-Bombay - the Chinchpokli Chintamani Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal will now reroute the start of their idol's arrival procession.

The mandal has requested everyone attending the procession on August 11 to wait near Ganesh Talkies and not crowd the bridge. The idol will be brought from a workshop at Arthur Road by a few mandal members; they have assured the BMC and traffic police that the bridge won't be crowded.

In a poor state

In IIT-B's report, Chinchpokli ROB, Currey road ROB and Byculla ROB (Garden bridge) were found to be in a poor state. After being informed by the Railways about the report, BMC and traffic police had decided to place height barriers to restrict entry of heavy vehicles.

Following that, heavy vehicles weighing above 16 tonnes had been banned from Chinchpokli ROB and Currey road ROB. But before this decision could be implemented, local MLAs got wind of it and put it on hold. mid-day had reported this on July 11 in, 'Height no barrier for Ganesha this year.' Following this, a meeting was held between co-ordination committees of Ganesh mandals and BMC in the presence of the Mayor, where the former once again appealed to not shut the bridges.

Mandal's solution

Now, as a solution to keeping the bridge open without causing any issues, the Chinchpokli mandal, one of the oldest in the city, has decided that their procession will start from Ganesh Talkies instead of the sculptor's workshop.

The office bearers of the mandal have sent out several messages to devotees regarding the decision to ensure there is no overloading on the bridge.

Praneel Panchal, vice president of the mandal, said, "Only a few members of the mandal will get the idol from the workshop and cross the bridge, avoiding any kind of added load. We will start our procession from Ganesh Talkies and then go towards the Lalbaug market, Kalachowkie junction and then back to the mandal. As the sculptor's workshop is at Arthur Road, we have to cross the bridge. We have taken this decision bearing in mind BMC and traffic police's instructions. We request everyone coming for the procession to gather at Ganesh Talkies and not come to the workshop."

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