After delay due to high tide, Lalbaugcha Raja idol immersion expected at around 11pm

Mumbai, Sep 7 (PTI) The iconic Lalbaugcha Raja idol was shifted onto a raft on Sunday afternoon after delays since morning due to high tide and technical challenges, with final immersion, delayed by several hours, expected to take place around 11pm, officials said.

Generally, the Lalbaugcha Raja idol is immersed into the Arabian Sea off Girgaon Chowpatty in south Mumbai before 9 am.

The idol was moved to a raft, following several failed attempts, more than eight hours after it arrived at Girgaon Chowpatty and over 28 hours after its grand procession began from Lalbaug on Saturday afternoon.

The failed attempts through the morning had prompted Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Utsav Mandal functionaries and officials present at the spot to opt for caution and wait for the high tide, of 4.42 metres at around 11.40 am, to recede.

"The idol was finally moved from its platform onto a newly constructed raft at 4:45pm with the help of hundreds of volunteers and fishermen amidst a sea of onlookers," an official said.

The feat elicited wild cheers from the thousands assembled at the site, with chants of "Lalbaugcha Rajacha Vijay Aso" (Victory to Lalbaugcha Raja), "Hi Shaan Konachi? Lalbaugcha Rajachi!" (Whose glory is this? Lalbaugcha Raja's) and "Ganpati Bappa Morya" (Hail Ganpati) renting the air, eyewitnesses said.

Explaining the chain of events since morning, Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal honorary secretary Sudhir Salavi told reporters high tide had begun earlier than expected, while the immersion procession arrived 10-15 minutes later than planned.

"We attempted to immerse the idol initially, but soon realized it wasn't working properly, so we decided to stop. Local fishermen advised us that the raft would be able to float during the next high tide, which is expected around 11pm. The final process of immersion will be carried out at that time," he informed.

Earlier in the morning, the surge of seawater caused by the high tide created problems, leading to several attempts to immerse the idol failing.

The water level rose till the waist of the idol, which made the raft unstable and difficult to manoeuvre, officials at the site and mandal functionaries said.

They said the swift water surge caused a platform carrying the idol to start floating, making it difficult to align it properly with the raft meant to carry the idol into the deeper sea for immersion.

For about three hours, the idol was in waters a few feet deep, with 15 to 20 volunteers and fishermen trying to maintain its balance, they said.

Lalbaugcha Raja is not the just the most patronised idol during the 10-day festival, but its immersion is also an unmissable segment annually for thousands of devotees, who throng the chowpatty from just past midnight waiting for its arrival by sunrise after winding through jampacked streets of central and south Mumbai. PTI KK GK BNM