Details
“Raju Vernekar
vernekar.raj@gmail.com
Mumbaikars bode farewell to Lord Ganesha on final day of the 10 day long festival. Due to COVID-19 protocol, there were no immersion processions, no music and no dancing on the streets. As a result, immersion sites were sparsely populated and were under strict vigil of police personnel. In most of the places, the Ganesha idols were handed over to life guards for immersion.
On way to immersion
Due to the corona virus pandemic this year, the BMC had introduced a ‘one-ward-one-Ganpati’ concept to ensure social distancing measures in Mumbai. In view of the appeal by BMC most of the people preferred to immerse their idols at nearby artificial tanks. Some of them handed over their idols to BMC’s moving immersion van.
Another hand cart proceeding towards the sea
For Ganpati Visarjan, more than 35,000 police personnel were deployed across Mumbai and the BMC also made arrangements for incident-free immersion of idols on the occasion of Anant Chaturdashi.
A family reciting an aarti before proceeding for the immersion
The beach at Seven Bungalows at Andheri West was almost deserted. Amid restrictions, the devotees completed rituals and bode final farewell to Lord Ganesha, urging him to come soon next year.
The seamen waiting for their turn in a boat
However Lord Ganesha did not seem to be in mood to leave, since these idols floated back after immersion and remained firm in the sand.
“
