Amid rain, devotees gather at Mumbai seafront to bid adieu to Lalbaugcha Raja

Mumbai: Thousands of devotees gathered at Girgaon Chowpatty in south Mumbai amid rains and tight security on Sunday morning to bid farewell to the iconic Lalbaugcha Raja and other idols of the elephant-headed deity, marking culmination of the 10-day Ganesh festival.

The immersion processions of major public Ganesh mandals, including the famous Lalbaugcha Raja, commenced on Saturday on the occasion of Anant Chaturdashi and continued overnight before reaching the seafront early Sunday, officials said.

The immersions of at least half-a-dozen Ganpati idols of public mandals, including Lalbaugcha Raja, were underway at the Girgaon Chowpatty, and are likely to take some more time for completion.

Efforts were on to shift the idol of Lalbaugcha Raja on a specially built raft and it will then be taken into the deep sea for immersion.

Anant Ambani, the youngest son of industrialist Mukesh Ambani, was among those present at the seafront to bid adieu to Lalbaugcha Raja.

Amid chants of "Ganpati Bappa Morya, pudhchya varshi lavkar ya", a fervent wish for the deity’s early return next year, the devotees gave a grand yet cautious farewell to Lord Ganesh in the country's financial capital as they defied rain and a bomb threat to participate in the immersion processions.

The city police were on alert after receiving a threat message on Thursday, claiming 14 terrorists had entered the city with 400 kilograms of RDX that was planted in 34 vehicles, an official earlier said.

More than 21,000 police personnel have been deployed in the city to maintain law and order during the idol immersions.

As of 6 am on Sunday, a total of 36,632 idols had been immersed across the city, after the culmination of the last day celebration of the Ganesh festival, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

This included 5,855 Ganpati idols of public mandals, 30,468 idols from households and 309 idols of Goddess Gauri.

"No untoward incident was reported during the immersion process," a civic official said.