Mumbai, Sep 25 Chants of “Ganpati Bappa Morya” and rhythmic beats of traditional dhol-tasha reverberated across Mumbai on Friday as thousands of devotees bid an emotional farewell to Lord Ganesh on the final day of the festival.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said 5,715 Ganesh idols were immersed in the metropolis till noon.
After traditional puja and aarti in the presence of large numbers of devotees at ‘sarvajanik’ (community) Ganesh pandals, immersion processions of several prominent mandals began in the morning with energetic chants, traditional music and showers of gulal and flower petals.
A total of 5,715 Ganesh idols were immersed till noon
. Of these, 198 belonged to the sarvajanik mandals, 5,471 household idols and 46 of Goddess Gauri/Hartalika idols, the civic body said.
“No untoward incident was reported during the immersion process till noon,” the BMC said in its latest update.
The official state festival of Maharashtra, which began with Ganesh Chaturthi on September 14 this year, is drawing to a close on Anant Chaturdashi being celebrated on Friday. Devotees bid farewell to the elephant-headed god by immersing idols in natural water bodies or artificial ponds.
The final day of the festival witnesses colourful and vibrant processions across Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra, with celebrations often continuing until late night and into the early hours of the next day.
A large number of devotees, including women and children, gathered along roads in the Lalbaug-Parel area in central Mumbai to watch the colourful immersion processions and ‘pushpavrushti’ (showering of flower petals on Ganesh idols) and soak in the festive atmosphere.
People from across Mumbai and other parts of the country throng Lalbaug during Ganeshotsav to visit pandals, such as the famous Lalbaugcha Raja.
Processions of several famous Ganapati idols, including Mumbaicha Raja of Ganesh Galli, Curry Roadcha Kaivari, Parelcha Raja, Mahaganapati of Kalachowki and Ganapati of Tejukaya Mansion, took to the roads in the area before 11 am.
However, the idols of other famous mandals, including Lalbaugcha Raja and Chinchpokalicha Chintamani, were taken out of their pandals post noon.
The Lalbaugcha Raja idol, which draws a massive crowd, was taken out of the pandal around 1 pm. Its procession proceeded further slowly. It left the Lalbaug area around 6 pm, while the idol of Chintamani and many other prominent Ganesh mandals were following it.
These idols will further be taken to Girgaon Chowpatty via Byculla, Nagpada and Gol Deool, for immersion in the Arabian Sea, which is expected to take place on Saturday morning.
After pushpavrushti at Shroff Building in Lalbaug, the Ganesh idols proceed towards Girgaon Chowpatty and Dadar Chowpatty, two of the city’s major immersion locations, as well as other immersion sites.
Curry Roadcha Kaivari was the first procession to leave Lalbaug after petal showers at Shroff Building. Processions of Ramgari Barak Chawl, Tejukaya Mansion and Kalachowkicha Mahaganapati also left the area for immersion points along the seafront by noon.
In other parts of Mumbai too, immersion processions were being carried out with enthusiasm. In Borivali, the procession of ‘Upnagar cha Raja’ was also heading towards an immersion point.
Several processions were accompanied by traditional dhol-tasha troupes, while devotees danced and chanted devotional songs.
The Mumbai police and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have made elaborate arrangements to facilitate idol immersions.
More than 24,000 police personnel are on duty during the day to regulate traffic and ensure the smooth movement of processions, while the BMC has deployed 25,000 staffers, officials said.
The civic body has made arrangements for lifeguards, ambulances, medical teams, cranes and other emergency services at 67 natural immersion sites and 383 artificial lakes in the city.
The authorities have appealed to devotees to follow safety guidelines, use designated immersion points and cooperate with police and civic personnel during the processions.
The BMC has also urged citizens to exercise caution while entering the sea for immersion and follow instructions of civic and police authorities, particularly in view of the presence of blue-button jellyfish and stingrays along the coastline.
(PTI News)
