City bids adieu to beloved Ganpati
Devotees use boats to immerse an idol Wednesday
Ganpati Bappa Morya, Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar Ya, was the cry of lakhs of devotees who bid an emotional goodbye to Lord Ganesha on Wednesday, ending the 10-day festival that is celebrated with much fanfare across the state. The visarjan ceremony lasted up to Thursday, when the famous Lalbaughcha Raja was immersed at around 7.30 am. Many public Ganpati idols were also immersed in artificial and natural ponds maintained by the BMC.
Figures obtained from the BMC revealed that this year saw an upsurge of 8,058 more idols being immersed, as compared to last year. The total number of idols immersed last year was 1,99,694. This year, a total of 2,07,752 Ganesh idols were immersed at 72 natural immersion spots and 27 artificial ponds, which have received a good response from the devotees.
Mumbai’s traditional immersion spots were the beaches at Girgaum Chowpatty, Shivaji Park, Worli, Juhu, Versova, Marve, Madh Island, Manori, Gorai, Thane Creek, Bhayander Creek, Vasai Creek and a lake inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park where BMC and Mumbai police had kept full vigil to avoid any untoward incident.
Elaborate arrangements for security, traffic regulations and safety of the devotees were made, and besides the police, State Reserve Police Force and Rapid Action Force, helicopters of Indian Navy and Coast Guard conducted regular checks to keep an eye from the sky.
Western Railway and Central Railway also ran special suburban services late at night, while BEST also ran special buses to clear the rush of devotees returning home after the immersion till Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, Mumbai mayor Sunil Prabhu expressed his gratitude to Mumbaikars for their devotion and enthusiasm. He also conveyed his thanks to the Mumbai police, traffic police and all the government NGOs who contributed in the festival going off smoothly.
In the Konkan region, lakhs of Ganesh idols were immersed in local rivers, ponds and beaches dotting the Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts. Processions were witnessed in Pune, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Nashik, Jalgaon and other major cities carrying big and small idols for immersion to local sites.
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