Devotees bid adieu to Lord Ganesh in Pune, urge deity to come back soon next year

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Devotees gave a grand send-off to Lord Ganesh and urged him to come back soon next year as the immersion processions of idols of the elephant-headed God commenced in Maharashtra's Pune city on Thursday, the last day of the 10-day festival.

A number of celebrities from Marathi cinema were seen trying their hands on dhol-tasha, the tradition percussion instruments, during a procession on Laxmi Road, the main route of the immersion processions.

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The processions of the city's five most prominent mandals - Kasba Ganpati, Tambadi Jogeswari, Gurji Talim, Tulshi Baug and Kesariwada - started with much fanfare as devotees played drums and chanted 'Ganapati Bappa Morya, Pudchya Varshi Lavkar Ya', (Hail Lord Ganesh, come back soon next year).

More than 7,000 police personnel, officers, and home guards have been deployed for the idol immersion processions in Pune to prevent any untoward incident, an official said.

Bomb Detection and Disposal squads, Quick Response Teams and dog squads have also been stationed at various places, he said.

There are 3,865 Ganesh mandals in Pune, while 6,14,257 idols of Lord Ganesh were installed in the city households.