Mumbai: More than 66,700 Ganesh idols immersed till Thursday morning, says BMC

Pic/AFP

More than 66,700 Ganesh idols were immersed in various water bodies in Mumbai till Thursday morning, civic officials told news agency PTI.

The immersion of idols has gone smoothly so far without any untoward incident, they said.

As part of the 10-day-long Ganeshotsav, dedicated to the elephant-headed god, idols of the deity are usually immersed after one and a half days, five days, seven days and ten days or as per family traditions.

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), a total of 66,785 "one-and-a-half-day" Ganesh idols were immersed in the sea and other water bodies, including artificial ponds, till 6 am on Thursday.

The idols were taken out and immersed amid chants of "Ganpati Bappa Morya", the beating of drums, music and dance.

Of the immersion figures so far, BMC said, 66,435 were household Ganesh idols, while 350 were "sarvajanik", or community, idols.

The civic body said 27,736 idols were immersed in artificial ponds, set up to avoid pollution of natural water bodies, across the city. Of these, 27,564 were household Ganesh idols and the rest 'sarvajanik'.

"No untoward incident was reported anywhere during the immersion," the BMC claimed.

The BMC has earmarked 69 natural water bodies, including stretches off the coast, and created 191 artificial ponds for immersion this year.

Ganeshotsav is one of the biggest festivals in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra. Idols of the deity are brought home and installed at pandals during the 10-day celebrations that start on Ganesh Chaturthi (September 19 this year) and end on Anant Chaturdashi (September 28 this year).

Meanwhile, a total of 5,786 tons of solid waste, including garbage and construction debris, has been collected from various areas of Mumbai so far this month, the civic body said on Wednesday.

The solid waste collected and transported from all 24 civic wards includes 1,603 tons of garbage and 4,183 tons of debris and trash, a release said.

Currently, the Solid Waste Management Department of the BMC is implementing a collective cleaning drive on small roads, alleys, slums and similar areas in its jurisdiction with the help of other departments.

In the wake of the ongoing Ganpati festival, the areas around Ganapati pandals and immersion spots are also being cleaned day and night, the release said.

In this campaign, 449 additional manpower, including 429 representatives of non-government organizations and 20 contract workers, have been recruited, besides regular employees of the civic body, the release said.

Along with the daily vehicles of the Solid Waste Management Department, 181 additional machines like JCBs, dumpers etc. have also been deployed.

(With inputs from PTI)