The most-revered lalbaugcha Raja (King of lalbaug), an equally popular Mumbaicha Raja installed next door, the GSB Seva Ganesh Mandal’s gold-studded and heavily insured idol at King’s Circle and Tulsiwadi’s three lakh artificial diamond piece-decked moorti stood out and drew huge crowds, as the country’s commercial capital ushered in the 10-day Ganesh festivities on Monday, amidst tight security.
Given that the festivities are being held in the backdrop of the much-discussed photojournalist gang-rape, the city police are not taking any chances. While they have made it known that they would come down with heavy hand on eve-teasers and molesters, the police have also put the onus of ensuring the incident-free conduct on 12,000-odd Ganesh Mandals in the city.
So much so that Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh has asked the Ganesh Mandals across the metropolis to ensure that the female devotees flocking their pandals are not eve-teased or molested during the 10-day festival — a statement that has drawn severe flak from Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray who has demanded to know if the Mandals are to protect women, then what are the police forIJ.
On a day when Mumbaikars brought more than 2,00,000 small and medium-sized Ganpati idols to their homes and Sarvajanik Mandals installed 12,000-odd huge idols, the metropolis reverberated to the beating of drums, cymbals, chants of ‘Ganpati Bappa Morya’ and ‘Sukh-karta Dukh-harta’ bhajan, even as the devotees accompanying the idols to their homes and localities danced in revelry.
As lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal (lRSGM) entered the 79th year of its formation, the Ganesh idol installed by it continued to attract maximum crowds of devotes from not just the city but also from the distant suburbs.
This year’s specialty of lRSGM is that the organisers have not only made elaborate seating arrangements for the devotees coming to have darshan of the most revered and popular Ganpati idol at lalbaug in south-central Mumbai, but they have increased the personal insurance cover for the devotees visiting the place. “Our total insurance cover has gone up from Rs 45 crore to Rs 51 crore. Of the total insurance, our personal accident cover has increased from Rs 25 crore to Rs 30 crore. The package also includes Rs 10 crore for public liability, Rs 7.5 crore for jewellery of the deity and Rs 3.5 crore for property insurance,” president of lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal Ashok Pawar said.
Equally popular is the 22-foot idol of Ganesh installed in the midst of a 65-foot tall replica of Somnath temple in Gujarat, at the lalbaug Sarvajanik Utsasv Mandal, Ganesh Galli, lalbaug. The mandal has recreated the Somnath temple using
eco-friendly materials and Plaster of Paris.
If the GSB Seva Ganesh Mandal at King’s Circle in north-central Mumbai has become the talk of the town, it is because it has installed the costliest idol in the city. Decorated with 78 kg of gold and 450 kg of silver ornaments and studded with precious stones and accessories, the Ganesh idol is here collectively worth Rs 21.6 crore,
Besides, the GSB Mandal has taken an insurance cover for a whopping Rs 223.35 crore from a public sector general insurance company. The biggest component of the insurance package last for 15 days is the Rs 182 crore cover for personal accident component that includes visitors, volunteers, electricians and other workers, at Rs 10 lakh per person. This year’s special feature is that as many as 55,000 pujas would be performed during the five days on which the idol would be kept at the mandal.
In its 75th year of celebrations, the Tulsiwadi Sarvanjik Gaeneshotsav Mandal has installed a 19-foot standing Ganesh idol, studded with 3 lakh pieces of artificial diamonds. The idol, with lighting around it resembling Eiffel Tower, has become a huge draw, especially in the evenings.
There are in all 12,000 Ganpati mandals across the metropolis. Besides, more than two lakh Ganpati idols have been installed in homes across the city
While lalbaugcha Raja, next-door Mumbaicha Raja, the GSB Seva Ganesh Mandal’s gold-studded Ganesh idol and Tulsiwadi’s of the elephant-headed God drew huge crowds, serpentine queues were also witnessed at various other Ganesh mandals in the city including the ones installed by Tejukaya Mandal at lalbaug, GSB Sarvajanik Ganeshutsav Samiti, Wadala, Sahyadri Mandal, Tilak Nagar-Chembur, Shri Bal Gopal Ganesh Utsav Mandal, Marine lines, Fort Vibhag Sarvajanik Ganeshutsav Mandal, Fort and Azad Nagar Sarvajanik Utsav Samitee at Andheri.
Maharashtrachief minister Prithviraj Chavan and Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde performed Ganesh puja at their Mumbai homes – official residence “Varsha” and personal residence – respectively.
Meanwhile, the city police have made elaborate security arrangement across the metropolis. Though there is no specific input of terror threat, the city police have deployed its 25,000 officers and men in various parts of the city to ensure incident-free conduct of the 10-day festivities.
In addition, 18 companies of State Reserve Police Force (SRPF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Rapid Action Force (RAF) and Border Security Force (BSF) will be on duty during the festival days.
Assisting the security personnel will be 2,500 Home Guards and 500 Civil Defence personnel, cadets of National Cadet Corps (NCC) and volunteers of National Service Scheme (NSS).
The police have deployed wireless vans with GPS, CCTVs, metal detectors, high-speed internet, while plainclothesmen of the Crime Branch (CB) and watchers of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) will assist the uniformed police personnel. Also in readiness are Bomb Detection and Disposal Squads and dog squads.
The police and various Ganeshotsav mandals have identified 200-odd spots that attract huge crowds, like the famous lalbaugcha Raja, where around 1.20 million devotees queue up round-the-clock for a ‘darshan’ during the festival days.
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Assisting the security personnel will be 2,500 Home Guards and 500 Civil Defence personnel, cadets of National Cadet Corps (NCC) and volunteers of National Service Scheme (NSS).
The police have deployed wireless vans with GPS, CCTVs, metal detectors, high-speed internet, while plainclothesmen of the Crime Branch (CB) and watchers of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) will assist the uniformed police personnel. Also in readiness are Bomb Detection and Disposal Squads and dog squads.
The police and various Ganeshotsav mandals have identified 200-odd spots that attract huge crowds, like the famous lalbaugcha Raja, where around 1.20 million devotees queue up round-the-clock for a ‘darshan’ during the festival days.