Ganesh festival begins in Maharashtra amid fanfare

Mumbai: The 10-day Ganesh festival began in Maharashtra on Saturday, with idols of the deity being installed in homes and at public pandals across the state amid fanfare and gaiety.

Families, including children and elderly members, stepped out of their homes early morning to bring their beloved god home amid chants of "Ganpati Bappa Morya" and the beating of drums.

Many people were seen carrying the idols of Lord Ganesh in autorickshaws, cars, and other modes of transport.

Traditional 'dhol-tasha' (drum) troupes accompanied the processions which began in the morning.

Many mandals - groups that celebrate the festival in public places - brought in their Ganesh idols with grand processions in the last few days.

The idols will be installed in homes and in pandas with rituals.

Devotees thronged vegetable and flower markets, sweet shops, and roadside stalls to buy flowers, puja materials, sweets, and decorative items.

Several politicians and celebrities from Bollywood install idols of the deity of wisdom and knowledge in their homes every year.

In Mumbai, around 15,000 police personnel besides senior officials have been deployed for security during the 10-day festival.

As many as 32 Deputy Commissioners of Police, 45 Assistant Commissioners, 2,435 officials, 12,420 constables, home guards and personnel of the State Reserve Police Force, Rapid Action Force and Riot Control Unit will be on the streets, an official said.

More than 2,500 Ganesh mandals and lakhs of households in the financial capital of the country will be celebrating the festival.

Authorities received 3,358 applications from Ganesh mandals, and permission to put up pandals was granted to 2,635 mandals as on Friday, a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said.

Bright, coloured lights have already lit up streets and bylanes in Lalbaug, Parel, Girgaon, Andheri, Chembur, Fort and other areas of Mumbai which house famous Ganapati mandals.

Lakhs of devotees visit some of the popular pandals such as 'Lalbaugcha Raja' during the festival.

Other well-known mandals in the area include Chinchpokli, Ganesh Gully and Tejukaya.

The Matunga-based GSB Seva Mandal, known for its Lord Ganesha adorned with gold jewellery, is considered one of the wealthiest mandals.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday urged people to celebrate the Ganesh festival in an eco-friendly way.

In a statement on the eve of the commencement of the ten-day festivities, Shinde expressed hope that the elephant-headed lord would shower blessings on everybody.

Heritage and culture of Maharashtra are on display during this festival, he said, and appealed to people to preserve its legacy.

He also asked Ganesh devotees to extend assistance to the needy and deprived sections of society.

Meanwhile, the BMC has asked people to be on guard against stingray and jellyfish bites during Ganesh festival idol immersions.

Hundreds of big idols are immersed in the Arabian sea.

Harmful fish that can bite Ganesh devotees during immersion have been found in large numbers in 'trial netting' conducted by the Maharashtra government’s Fisheries Department, a BMC release said.

The trial netting was done off the coast at Girgaon and Dadar and fish like Dhomi, Kolambi, Shingti, Blue Jelly Fish, Ghoda Masa, Chhote Ravas etc were found along with jellyfish and stingrays, it said.

Citizens should take precautions during Ganapati immersion, the BMC said.