Mumbai bids grand farewell to ‘Ganpati Bappa’ amid rains, bomb threat; over 18,000 idols immersed

Mumbai, Sep 6 (PTI) A sea of Ganesh devotees braved rains and a bomb threat to bid farewell to their beloved elephant-headed deity amid the beating of ‘dhol-tasha’ and rising clouds of ‘gulal’ as the 10-day Ganpati festival drew to a close on Saturday.

More than 18,000 idols of the elephant-headed deity were immersed in various water bodies in Mumbai till 9 pm, officials said.

“No untoward incident was reported during the immersion process,” said an official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Scores of people perched on road dividers, building terraces, balconies, trees, and even poles to catch a glimpse of the grand finale, as the idols made their way to the city’s beaches and other water bodies amid chants of ‘Ganpati Bappa Morya, pudhachya varshi lavkar ya’ – a fervent wish for the deity’s early return next year.

Immersion of big Ganapati idols mainly started after 3 pm, though most started reaching chowpatties (seashore) 6 pm onwards, civic officials said. Devotees also thronged these seafronts in large numbers.

Earlier in the day, 'rangolis' were drawn on roads, even as parts of the city witnessed light to moderate showers since morning.

According to the BMC, 18,186 Ganapati idols, 1,058 of ‘sarvajanik mandals’ (local community groups) and 258 of Goddess idols, were immersed in natural water bodies and artificial ponds created by the civic body till 9 pm.

At Lalbaug in central Mumbai, famous for its iconic Ganapati mandals, the processions began with idols of Tejukaya, Ganesh Gully, and several other mandals.

Thousands gathered along the streets of Lalbaug and other major procession routes to bid farewell to their favourite deity, with prayers on their lips and to witness the vibrant spectacle filled with music, dance, and clouds of celebratory ‘gulal’ (vermillion powder).

The processions of the famous Ganpatis from Lalbaug, including Lalbaugcha Raja, Chinchpoklicha Chintamani, Ballaleshwar of Bal Ganesh Mandal, Mumbaicha Raja of Ganesh Galli, Mahaganapati of Kalachowki, Rangari Badak Chawl Ganapati, and Tejukaya Ganapati, slowly made their way to the main road.

Crowds assembled at Shroff Building in Lalbaug, from where the traditional “pushpa vrishti” (flower shower) was performed on the Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesh idol around 5.30 pm with a model of a Rafale aircraft pulled using a rope contraption.

The procession of this iconic Ganesh mandal had reached the Khatau Mill area in Byculla by 11 pm. It is likely to reach the Girgaon Chowpatty on Sunday morning.

The procession passes through Byculla, Nagpada, Don Taki and Goldevool areas before reaching the immersion point in south Mumbai.

The Seva Sadan Mandal used an icon of "Abhijat Marathi" for its procession, as Marathi has been declared a classical language this year.

The procession of the Rangari Badak Chawl was the first to receive 'Pushpavrishti' at Shroff Building, followed by the Cotton Green cha Raja Ganesh idol.

Major processions from Lalbaug, Parel, Kalachowki, and other areas of central Mumbai began moving towards the seafronts after 1.30 pm.

Dozens of bus routes of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking were diverted, cancelled or suspended at 67 locations across the city due to Ganapati immersion processions, a BEST spokesperson said.

More than 21,000 police personnel have been deployed in the city to maintain law and order during the idol immersions.

The city police were on alert after receiving a threat message claiming 14 terrorists had entered the city with 400 kilograms of RDX that had been planted in 34 vehicles, an official said.

The threat message was received on the traffic police's WhatsApp helpline on Thursday while the metropolitan force was making security arrangements for Anant Chaturdashi, the last day of the Ganesh festival.

The police later arrested a 50-year-old man from Noida in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly sending the threat message.

The crime branch apprehended the accused, Ashwinikumar Supra, from his residence in Noida within 24 hours of receiving the threat message, the official said. PTI KK ARU NP NR