Maharashtra: 10-day Ganesh festival begins with pomp and gaiety

The 10day Ganesh Chaturthi festival started in Maharashtra on Tuesday with idols of Lord Ganesh the god of prosperity and wisdom being installed in homes and at pandals across the state with pomp and gaietyPTI report said that the public celebration of the festival in Maharashtra dates back to the 1890s when the nationalist leader Bal Gangadhar Tilak and others decided to use it to mobilize the massesGanesh mandals in Mumbai and other major cities of Maharashtra took large idols in processions accompanied by dholtasha beats to their pandals in the last few daysHousehold Ganesh idols were brought mostly on Monday night or in the morning Tuesday with chants of Ganpati Bappa MoryaDevotees thronged vegetable and flower markets sweet shops and roadside stalls for buying flowers puja materials sweets and decorative itemsPolitical leaders and film and television personalities also welcomed the deity to their homesMeanwhile commuters in Mumbai were met with unexpected disruptions in their daily commutes today as several bus routes were diverted causing confusion and inconvenience during the morning rush hourAccording to Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport bus route numbers 09 67 69 and 134 were the first to face significant diversions Starting at 0820 hours the buses lying on these routes were diverted in the down direction from Sadashiv Gopal Naik Chowk They were rerouted via Saibaba Road G D Ambekar Road and S Y ChowkMeanwhile at the revered Lalbaug area due to the huge rush of visitors buses plying on route 66 were rerouted from Bharatmata Signal via Curry Road Bridge in the down direction only starting at 750 hoursBuses serving route numbers 44 and 50 were also affected by diversions from Bharatmata Signal Starting at 750 hours they were rerouted via Saibaba Road up to Shravan Yashavante Chowk in both directionsThe Ganesh Chaturthi festival began in Pune amid usual fanfare with prominent Ganesh mandals or the groups taking out big processions to welcome the lordTraditional DholTasha drum troupes accompanied the processions which began in the morningAlso read How Mumbairsquos different communities are bringing in festivities this yearMumbais GSB Seva Mandals Mahaganpati renowned as possibly Indias richest idol and always the talk of the city for the opulent way it is decorated is this year resplendent in 665 kilograms of gold ornaments more than 295 kilograms of silver as well as other precious itemsThe mandal at Kings Circle in the eastern part of the city is celebrating its 69th year and a first is the installation of facial recognition cameras as part of the security arrangements a Mandal spokesperson saidIn Mumbai more than 13750 police personnel have been deployed for security during Ganesh festivities an official saidThese comprise 11726 constables 2024 officers from the rank of sub inspector to assistant commissioner and 15 deputy commissioners he saidA large number of people are expected to be on the streets visiting pandals etc The police is fully geared up to tackle any law and order issue he addedNotifications issued by the traffic police listed several moves for smooth flow of vehicles in the metropolis including ban on heavy vehicles on certain daysThere will be a ban on operation of private buses and heavy vehicles in South Mumbai on September 21 24 26 and 29 Between September 19 and 29 all types of heavy vehicles are allowed to operate between midnight and 700 am except September 21 24 26 and 29 in South Mumbai the official saidOn September 20 23 and 25 there will be complete restrictions for all types of heavy vehicles and private buses to enter and ply on roads from 11 am to 1 pm except South Mumbai he addedImmersion day will see a larger presence of police on the ground and manpower details were being chalked out the official said