Ganesh Chaturthi Updates: Over 160 Idols Immersed in Mumbai on Day 5; Curbs on Liquor Sale in Bengaluru

Ganesh Chaturthi Updates: Festivities for the ten-day Ganesh Chaturthi festival are in full swing across states. After a two-year lull due to Covid restrictions, people across the country have enthusiastically participated in celebrations at home and in community pandals.

As the festival enters its fifth day, states will see visarjan processions again, as homes and pandals carry their idols for immersion in water bodies. Mumbai has so far seen over 160 idol immersions on day five, with no untoward incidents yet.

Elaborate arrangements have been made in Hyderabad to ensure processions run smoothly, while Bengaluru has put curbs on liquor sales in certain areas to prevent ruckus.

Here are the latest updates on Ganesh Chaturthi from across states:

• At least 166 Ganesh idols were immersed at beaches and artificial ponds across Mumbai on the fifth day of the Ganpati festival on Sunday, an official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. As many as 160 household Ganesh idols and six Hartalika idols were immersed till afternoon, he said. Of these, 45 household idols and five Hartalika idols were immersed in the artificial ponds built for the purpose in different parts of the city, the official said.

• MNS chief Raj Thackeray offered prayers at Mumbai’s Lalbaugcha Raja.

• The Shiv Sena on Sunday claimed the credit for the restriction-free celebration of the ongoing Ganesh festival goes to party chief Uddhav Thackeray.

Thackeray fought the Covid-19 pandemic for two years with strict restrictions (when he had served as the CM of Maharashtra) and created awareness among people about the safety protocols, an article in the Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ said.

• Federation of Sweets and Namkeen Manufacturers director Firoz H Naqvi told PTI “the demand of modak and other sweets has also increased in the ongoing Ganesh festival,” adding that the trade of sweets and namkeen (snacks) in the current financial year is likely to reach an all-time high of Rs 1.25 lakh crore.

• The Bengaluru police have imposed restrictions on the sale of liquor in parts of Bengaluru on Sunday in the wake of Ganesh idol immersion processions in different parts of the city, to ensure law and order in places that are considered sensitive regions, reports the Indian Express. Liquor shops in Hennur, Ramamurthy Nagar, Kothanur, Amrutahalli and Sampigehalli police station limits will be shut.

• In Hyderabad, arrangements to facilitate smooth conduct of processions include deployment of 100 expert swimmers to attend possible emergencies, cranes to facilitate immersion of bigger idols, and removing of low-hanging cables and branches on procession routes as per Telangana Today.

• In Mumbai, a replica of a double-decker BEST bus houses a Ganesha idol.

• AAP chief and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal attended a function to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Surat, Gujarat on Saturday.

• A Muslim woman in Aligarh has brought Ganpati home for seven days as part of the festival, in a beautiful show of communal harmony. “We will keep the idol for seven days before immersing it in water on September 6. I and my family do ‘puja’ every day as per rituals and offer ‘modaks’ to the Lord,” she said.

(With agency inputs)

Read all the Latest News India and Breaking News here