Ganesh idol immersion: Seven die in Maharashtra and MP

Mumbai/Bhopal, Sep 7 (PTI) Ganesh festival culminated on a teary note for lakhs of devotees who bid farewell to the adorable elephant-headed god they consecrated and worshipped for ten days, while at least seven persons died in various incidents, including drowning, after immersing idols in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

In Maharashtra, four persons drowned and 13 went missing in various water bodies in Thane, Pune, Nanded, Nashik, Jalgaon, and Amravati districts, officials said on Sunday.

In Mumbai city, where immersion processions extend several hours, a man died of electrocution and five other individuals sustained injuries, civic officials said.

The incident occurred on Khairani Road in the Sakinaka area on Sunday morning when a Ganesh idol came into contact with a hanging electric wire.

In Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh, two teenage boys drowned after falling into a stream during the immersion of an idol of Lord Ganesh, police said on Sunday.

The boys drowned after falling into a stream during the immersion of an idol of Lord Ganesh in Ghatkheda village in Madhya Pradesh's Raisen district on Saturday night, police said.

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

In Palghar district, neighbouring Mumbai, three men who were swept away in a creek during Ganpati idol immersion were saved with the help of a Ro-Ro boat after a quick alert from maritime authorities, officials said on Sunday.

The incident took place at around 3 pm on Saturday at Narangi jetty in Virar (West), they said.

Meanwhile, the immersion of iconic Lalbaugcha Raja idol has been delayed by several hours and is expected to conclude around 11 pm due to weather conditions and technical issues.

The idol was shifted onto a raft on Sunday afternoon after delays since morning due to high tide and technical challenges, officials said.

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

The idol was moved to a mechanised 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 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.

Lalbaugcha Raja is not just the most patronised idol during the 10-day festival, but its immersion is also an unmissable segment 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 DC KK COR LAL GK BNM NSK