Pune police provide immersion time-table to Ganesh Mandals

Pune, Sep 3 (PTI) Pune Police on Wednesday came out with a detailed timetable for this year's Ganesh idol immersion procession, seeking to start it earlier than previous years, and asked the Mandals to follow the schedule strictly.

As per the guidelines issued by the police commissioner's office, the immersion procession on Anant Chaturdashi -- the last day of the ongoing festival -- will start in the morning, with the first `Manacha Ganapati' Kasba Ganapati Mandal scheduled to set off for the river around 9.30 am.

Traditionally, the immersion procession starts with five `manache' or revered Ganapati Mandals or groups taking precedence. The first chariots carrying idols roll out around 11 am.

The other four `Manache' Mandals are Tambdi Jogeshwari, Guruji Talim, Tulsibaug and Kesriwada.

Other prominent Mandals including Shrimant Dagadusheth Ganapati, Shirmant Bhausaheb Rangari Ganapati, Akhil Mandai Ganapati Mandal, Babu Genu Mandal and others have been assigned separate slots for starting their processions 4 pm onwards.

The last day's procession in Pune is known to stretch well into the next morning, creating challenges of crowd management and putting enormous strain on the police.

It is also common for Mandals to deploy multiple dhol-tasha troupes with their members sometimes numbering more than 100. But the police have stipulated this year that each Mandal will have only two dhol-tasha troupes with a maximum of 60 members in total.

Amitesh Kumar, Pune police Commissioner, said the guidelines were drafted after all Ganesh Mandals agreed on them.

"We request Ganesh Mandals to maintain discipline and follow the immersion schedule. The early start will help complete the procession in time and reduce pressure on traffic and security arrangements," he said in the release. PTI SPK KRK