Thousands of devotees flocked Mumbai’s Girgaum chowpati beach and other immersion points on Tuesday to give a grand farewell to Lord Ganesh on the occasion of Anant Chaturdashi, the final day for the immersion of Ganesh idols, ending the 10-day long Ganeshotsav.
Chants of “Ganpati Bappa Morya, Pudchya varshi Lavkar Ya” rented the air as processions carrying huge idols of the elephant god converged in Girgaum chowpati. Around 4,500 Ganesh mandals participated in the immersion this year. The streets were full of devotees singing and dancing to bid adieu to the god of wisdom, as the processions winded their way to the chowpati. In the process, the city witnessed some mega traffic snarls in tow.
Mumbai mayor Shubha Raul, deputy mayor Vidya Thakur and the civic commissioner Jayraj Pathak showered flowers on the Ganesh idols from a chopper.
The main immersion points of Girgaum beach, Mahim beach, Dadar beach, Juhu beach and Varsova beach were thronged by devotees. The idols were taken in launches inside the sea for immersion. Around a hundred life guards were deployed at the beaches. The main roads like the Marine Drive in South Mumbai or those around Dadar chowpati were shut for the traffic; only one-way traffic was allowed on roads near Colaba, Cuffe Parade and Tardeo in South Mumbai, Haji Ali and Mahim in Central Mumbai and Juhu, Varsova and Andheri West in the western suburbs.
The immersion continued throughout the day and night and is expected to come to an end in the early hours of Wednesday.
Elaborate security arrangements were maintained throughout the immersion by deploying 30,000 policemen, as well as personnel from the Anti-Terrorism Squad and Crime Branch.
In Pune, the main procession was taken out on Lakshmi Road. As per the century-old custom, the procession was led by Kasba ganapati mandal, followed by Tambdi Jogeshwari, Guruji Talim, Tulsibaug and Kesariwada mandals. These are the five honoured Ganesh mandals in Pune.
The procession is expected to continue till Wednesday afternoon.
HYD PEACEFUL
Hyderabad, DHNS: The Hyderabad police heaved a sigh of relief as the annual farewell to Lord Ganesh went off peacefully here on Tuesday.
Several thousand idols of Lord Ganesha were taken in procession, all heading to the 400-year old Hussainsagar Lake for immersion. The police had spread a security blanket over the city.
