Mumbai: A sea of humanity poured into the streets of Mumbai amid chants of ‘Ganpati Bappa Morya’ reverberating through the air as the 11-day-long Ganeshotsav drew to a close on Tuesday coinciding with the Anant Chaturdashi when idols of Lord Ganesha were immersed in Mumbai and elsewhere in Maharashtra.
Reports of immersion of Ganesh idols were received from the Mumbai metropolitan region and the neighbouring regions of Pune and Nashik.
Immersion will continue past midnight of Wednesday.
An estimated 3.5 to 4 lakh idols of Lord Ganesha - of varying sizes, shapes and themes were immersed, marking the end of the biggest festival of Maharashtra.
A large number of people have thronged the Lalbaug-Parel area to see the procession of Mumbai cha Raja of Ganesh Gully, Lalbaug cha Raja, Chintamani of Chinchpokli and Tejukaya, the four big idols of Mumbai.
In the entire Mumbai Metropolitan Region and elsewhere in Maharashtra, idols of the pot-bellied elephant-headed-lord are being immersed into streams, ponds, lakes, rivers and the Arabian Sea amidst the beating of drums.
People chanted – ‘Ganpati bappa moraya…pudchaya varshi laukar yeah’ in unison – and threw ‘gulal’ up in the air as the big Ganpati idols passed by various streets of Mumbai.
A large crowd was seen at Girgaum Chowpatty, one of the biggest, most popular and crowded immersion sites.
Huge crowds were also seen at the Dadar Chowpatty and Girgaum Chowpatty as people bid farewell to Lord Ganesha - the God of intellect, wisdom, prosperity and remover of all obstacles.
In Mumbai, tight security arrangements were seen with CCTVs installed across the procession route, aerial surveillance by Coast Guard choppers, drones hovering over immersion spots and police personnel and plainclothesmen on streets.
Published 17 September 2024, 13:13 IST