Maharashtra: Devotees bid farewell to Lord Ganesh in Latur amid heavy rains

Latur: Amid heavy rains, devotees bid adieu to Lord Ganesh in Latur city of Maharashtra as the 10-day-long festival dedicated to the elephant-headed deity came to a close.

The festival, which began with 'Ganesh Chaturthi' on September 19, concluded on 'Anant Chaturdashi' on Thursday.

Processions for the immersion of idols of Lord Ganesh installed by people at their houses and at 'sarvajanik mandals' (public pandals) began on Thursday morning. A large number of people participated in the processions taken out in the city amid the beating of drums and chants of 'Ganpati Bappa Morya, Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar Ya' From 2 pm, heavy rains started lashing the city, which continued till around 6 pm. However, the showers failed to dampen the spirit of the devotees as the processions continued largely unperturbed.

People thronged the streets to catch a glimpse of the idols of some popular Ganesh mandals, including Bappa Ganesh Mandal, Shri Ausa Hanuman Ganesh Mandal, Vishwacha Raja and Laturcha Raja Ganpati.

The idols were immersed in different water bodies, including a lake near Shri Siddheshwar temple, across the city. A large police personnel security was deployed to ensure that no untoward incident took place.

Thirty years back, an earthquake of 6.4 magnitude hit Killari in Latur in the wee hours of September 30. Around 52 villages in Latur-Osmanabad region were destroyed, killing approximately 10,000 people and injuring thousands of others. The tragedy struck immediately after Anant Chaturdashi, the last day of the Ganesh festival.