Pune, Sep 26 Ganpati idol immersions in Pune city concluded on Saturday more than 33 hours after they began on Anant Chaturdashi, the process marked by traditional fervour, huge celebratory crowds and loud music.
The immersions began when the five ‘Manache’ (beloved) mandals moved towards Alka Talkies Chowk on Friday morning. Police officials said the ‘visarjan miravnuk’ (immersion procession) of the first Manacha Ganpati, Kasba Ganpati, began at 10:30am, with the idol being immersed at 4:43pm the same day.
The Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati Mandal set out at 4.18 pm and finished the procession by 8.27 pm on Friday, they added. The immersion of the idol of Maharashtra Tarun Mandal at 6:15 pm on Saturday culminated the process.
The entire ‘visarjan miravnuk’ in Maharashtra’s second largest city took 33 hours and 27 minutes, an official said.
As per police, 4170 Ganesh mandals took part in the procession, while 6.24 lakh smaller idols kept at homes were immersed at various points in the city.
“The last Ganpati idol passed through Alka Chowk at around 6.15 pm today,” Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar said while expressing gratitude to citizens, volunteers and all stakeholders for the immersions passing off peacefully without any untoward incident.
Pune’s metro rail service proved very useful, with around six lakh people using the network till the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, Kumar told reporters.
“The festival was conducted smoothly through proper planning and technology for crowd management, women’s safety and traffic movement. No untoward incident was reported yesterday or today,” he said.
Kumar also said the duration of the process, more than 33 hours this year, is not a priority for the police.
“What matters to us is that the festival concludes safely without causing inconvenience despite such huge crowds. Despite the heavy crowd, 34 ambulances were successfully moved through the procession route,” he said.
The procession continued for approximately the same duration when compared to last year, Kumar claimed.
Kumar also said the prescribed sound limits were followed better this year when compared to 2025.
“However, action will be taken against those who violated norms. Action was taken over the last two days. A total of 21 cases were registered until September 24,” the commissioner said.
Pune police made all efforts to regulate the ‘DJ’ sound levels and ensure compliance with prescribed decibel limits, he said.
(PTI News)
