Processions carrying huge idols of the elephant-headed God on decorated trucks in Mumbai and Pune bid farewell to Ganpati on Sunday
The Ganesh Chaturthi festival came to an end with the immersion of Lord Ganesha idols in the Arabian Sea, rivers and lakes across Mumbai, Maharashtra and other parts of India. The immersion process began early on Sunday morning and continued well past midnight with devotees carrying huge idols of the elephant-headed God on decorated trucks, accompanied by troupes of drummers and thousands of devotees chanting ‘Ganpati Bappa Maurya’ slogans, marking the culmination of the 11-day festival.
While public Ganesh mandals prefered to take the idols for immersion to sea shores or rivers, many families which install smaller idols conducted 'viasarjan' at homes in buckets of water. With a view to avoiding pollution of natural water bodies, many civic bodies set up artificial ponds for immersion.
In Mumbai, the famous Lalbaughcha Raja Ganpati, which attracts lakhs of devotees during the 11-day festival, was among the early starters for immersion at Girgaum Chowpatty. The festival, which began on Ganesh Chaturthi on September 13, concluded on Sunday on 'Anant Chaturdashi'. Mumbai's most famous Ganesh idol Lalbaugcha Raja's visarjan procession started at Lalbaug. The procession of Lalbaugcha Raja took the following route - Bharat Mata Theater, Sane Guruji Marg, Byculla Railway Station, Clare Road, Nagpada, Dunkan Road, Don Taki, Sant Sena Maharaj Marg (Kumbharwada), Suthar Gully, Madhav Baug, C.P. Tank, V.P. Road, Opera House, Girgaum Chowpatty.
Lalbaugcha Raja immersion procession started in the morning at Lalbaug, Parel. All Pictures/Satej Shinde
Mumbai's most famous and one of the oldest Sarvajanik Ganpatis, Ganesh Galli Cha Raja also popularly known as 'Mumbai Cha Raja' started final visarjan on Sunday morning. The procession of Ganesh Galli Cha Raja took the following route: Dr. S.S Rao Road, Ganesh Cinema, Chinchpokli Bridge, Arthur Road Corner, Saat Rasta, Sane Guruji Marg, Agreepada, Dr. Bhadkamkar Marg, Opera House, Wilson College, Girgaum Chowpatty.
Public celebration of Ganesh festival dates back over a century when it was first encouraged by Bal Gangadhar Tilak in order to promote nationalist sentiment during the colonial rule. In Mumbai, prime locations for immersion are Girgaum Chowpatty (beach), Juhu, Powai lake and Dadar Chowpatty. Among the thousands who thronged the beachfront at Girgaum were 300 foreign nationals who watched the immersions from special enclosure after having booked tickets for it online through MTDC, said BJP corporator Atul Shah.
In Pune, the top five Ganesh mandals set out for immersion in the morning. In Nashik city of North Maharashtra, Ganesh mandals decided not to use hi-tech sound amplifying systems and 'gulal' powder (which is sprinkled during the procession) during the immersion. The immersion procession of over 50 Ganesh mandals began in the morning from Wakadi Barav locality in Nashik.
Devotees carry Ganesha idols for immersion into the Arabian Sea on the 11th day of Ganpati festival, at Girgaon Chowpati in Mumbai. Pic/PTI
Devotees in other districts of the state like Solapur, Kolhapur, Aurangabad, Nanded, Jalgaon, Amravati, and Nagpur also bid aideu to their favourite God.
The Bombay High Court had on Friday refused to lift the ban imposed by the state government on the use of hi-tech sound-amplifying systems such as DJ and Dolby sound during Ganpati immersion and the coming Navratri festival. The immersion processions were marred by unruly incidents in cities like Nashik, Pune and Kolhapur, mostly due to arguments over the use of sound amplifying systems, police said.
A mild lathicharge had to be resorted to after some people participating in these processions got into arguments with police when the latter stopped them from playing prohibited high-tech sound amplifying systems, said a Kolhapur police official. Kolhapur mayor Shobha Bondre alleged that police personnel accompanying Kolhapur Superintendent of Police Abhinav Deshmukh spoke rudely to her while she was part of one of the processions in the city.
Tejukaya Cha Raja's immersion procession at Lalbaug, Parel. Picture/Satej Shinde
"The police personnel with Kolhapur SP Abhinav Deshmukh used very rude language. This is unacceptable as I was participating in the procession as the mayor of the city," she alleged.
Similar incidents were also reported from Nashik and Pune and police had to resort to mild baton charge to control the situation, officials said.
Edited by mid-day online desk with inputs from PTI
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