25 September,2023 12:42 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Devotees carry a Ganesh idol for immersion in the sea, in September last year. Pic/Satej Shinde
Mumbaikars are bidding their beloved âBappa' goodbyes with a heavy heart. The Ganesh Chaturthi festivities are witnessing an incident-free culmination, said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The civic agency reported that nearly 46 idols were immersed across the city up to 12 pm. The immersions were of idols installed for seven days.
Notably, none of the Sarvajanik or those of public pandals have been immersed yet. Along with Lord Ganesha's idols, people bid farewell to Gauri. Across Maharashtra, people worship Gauri, Lord Ganesha's sister, and then immerse her idol during Ganapati Visarjan.
According to the data, as many as 42 idols of Lord Ganesha were immersed and four of Gauri were which took the total to 46. Moreover, all these idols were of private households, colloquially referred to as âGharguti'.
Of the total 46 idols, only 25 idols were immersed in the artificial lakes created by the civic body for immersion. Of these 21 were of Lord Ganesha.
The Disaster Management Unit (DMU) reported that visarjan proceedings were conducted smoothly without major disruptions or safety concerns. They said no untoward incident had happened.
Ganesh Chaturthi
Ganeshotsav festivities in Maharashtra commenced on September 19 this year. It is a 10-day festival which celebrates the arrival of Lord Ganesha on Earth. Many bring idols of Lord Ganesha in their homes and public mandals have big pandals with regal decorations.
Although the festival culminates after 10 days on Anant Chaturdashi, some bring âBappa' home for a shorter while and it varies. Some families get the idol for only one day or one and a half day. Some install idols in their homes for either three, five or seven days.
The city this year saw a range of themes on display. The themes ranged from the Chandrayaan-3 launch to the Ayodhya Ram Temple. Many popular pandals also created themes along that of Maharashtra under the rule of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as this was the 350th year of his coronation.
Many thronged to popular pandals like Lalbaugcha Raja, GSB Seva Mandal and others. Lalbaugcha Raja in five days of festivities has already collected donations amounting to Rs 2 crores.
BMC had permitted 2,729 âsarvajanik' mandals to organise public festivities and over 3,750 police personnel, including staffers from the traffic department, were deployed. The civic agency also issued an advisory for the public to beware of âsting rays' and âjellyfish' along the city coast and asked them to remain safe and take the assistance of designated persons for visarjan.
