After unprecedented delay, Mumbai's Lalbaugcha Raja idol immersed past 9pm

Mumbai, Sep 7 (PTI) Mumbai's iconic Lalbaugcha Raja idol was immersed in the Arabian Sea at around 9:15pm on Sunday, more than 12 hours after it arrived at Girgaon Chowpatty, the designated immersion point in the southern part of the metropolis, officials said.

Amid chants from thousands of devotees who gathered at the beach, drum beats and bursting of crackers, a specially constructed raft pulled by fishermen's boats escorted by police teams took the idol into the deep sea and immersed it, they said.

The raft carrying the Ganpati idol began floating after the sea water level rose between 7pm and 8pm pm, following which it set off for the final immersion, officials said.

It was among the most delayed immersions of the idol, they added. Generally, the Lalbaugcha Raja idol is immersed into the Arabian Sea off Girgaon Chowpatty in south Mumbai before 9 am.

The immersion finally took place nearly 13 hours after the idol arrived at Girgaon Chowpatty on Sunday morning around 8 am, and over 32 hours after its grand procession began from Lalbaug at 12:30pm on Saturday.

The idol immersion was delayed due to high tide, of 4.42 metres, and technical challenges, officials earlier said.

Following several failed attempts, the idol was moved a newly constructed raft at 4:45pm with the help of hundreds of volunteers and fishermen amidst a sea of onlookers.

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.

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 to recede.

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," he said.

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