Maha: 20-year-old goes missing after entering river during Ganesh idol immersion

A 20yearold man waded into a river at Pachore Vani village in Niphad taluka in Maharashtras Nashik district when an idol of Lord Ganesh was being immersed on Wednesday afternoon officials said on ThursdayIdentified as Raj Umesh Wagh PTI quoting officials reported that Wagh perhaps could not judge the depth of the water and slippedDue to heavy rains in the area the river had strong currents which also slowed down the search operation by the police and fire brigade he said Wagh is yet to be traced the official addedMeanwhile amid the beating of drums and chants of Ganpati Bappa Morya various Ganesh mandals in Mumbai on Thursday started processions to immerse the idols of the deity marking the culmination of the 10day festivalCrowds gathered at various places in the city to catch a glimpse of their favourite deity as deckedup idols of Lord Ganesh in various forms and sizes were taken out of pandals for their final journey accompanied by music dance and prayersThe festival which began with Ganesh Chaturthi on September 19 is set to conclude on the Anant Chaturdashi on Thursday with the immersion of idols in the Arabian Sea and other water bodies in MumbaiAlso read Devotees bid adieu to Lord Ganesh in Pune urge deity to come back soon next yearIn Mumbais Lalbaug area famous for celebrating the festival with grandeur the procession of idols of Tejukaya and Ganesh Gully mandals started with chants of Ganapati Bappa Morya Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar Ya come soon next year LordThe procession of the famous Lalbaugcha Raja idol which attracts a maximum number of devotees during the 10day festival started at around 1130 amA large number of people were seen waiting on both sides of the roads for the final darshan of the idolThousands of people gathered on the streets of Lalbaug and other major procession routes of Ganesh idols to bid farewell to the deity with heartfelt prayers and witness the vibrant processions being taken out with music dance and sprinkling of gulal vermillion powderThere was also a large gathering of people at Lalbaugs Shroff building to witness pushpavrusti showering of flowers on the Ganesh idolsCrowds also assembled on the main road leading to Girgaon in south Mumbai from where the maximum number of processions pass These include the processions of Ganesh idols from Fort Girgaon Mazgaon Byculla Dadar Matunga Sion Chembur and other areasAccording to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation as many as 165964 idols including several household idols sarvajanik public ones and idols of Goddess Gauri were immersed in various water bodies here including artificial ponds till the seventh day of the festival Agencies