Maharashtra’s biggest festival Ganesh Utsav has started with much fanfare in the state. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde welcomed Ganpati at his official residence and participated in the aarti. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also participated in the Ganesh Aarti. BMC has approved 2,729 Ganesh pandals across Mumbai. So in the state too, Ganesh Utsav has started with the first aarti of Ganesh Chaturthi. Ganesh Utsav will last for 10 days in Maharashtra. Earlier, in the capital Mumbai and other major cities of the state, Ganesh Mandals took out huge idols of Lord Shri Ganesha in a procession to their puja pandals with the beat of Dhol-Tasha.
In Pune, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat performed a special puja at Maharashtra’s famous Dagdusheth Ganpati pandal on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi on the first day of the 10-day festival. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, after worshiping Lord Shri Ganesha at his official residence ‘Varsha’ along with family members, said that I have prayed to Lord Shri Ganesha for prosperity and peace for the people of the state. Fadnavis installed the idol of Lord Shri Ganesha at his official residence Sagar. He told reporters that God’s blessings are with the ‘Mahayuti’ (BJP-led grand alliance). Many celebrities from the film and television world also welcomed Lord Ganesha in their homes.
People decorated their homes and pandals based on various themes, including the launch of Chandrayaan-3 and the Ram temple in Ayodhya, where idols of Lord Shri Ganesha in different shapes and sizes were installed. Children as well as other family members including senior citizens came out of their homes early in the morning to bring their beloved ‘Bappa’ home amid the cheers of ‘Ganpati Bappa Morya’ and the beat of drums. Many people were seen carrying the idols in autorickshaws, cars and other modes of transport.
Due to its grand decoration, ‘Mahaganpati’ of GSB Seva Mandal of Mumbai always remains the talk of the town. This time GSB Seva Mandal has decorated the idol of Lord Ganesha with 66.5 kg gold jewellery, more than 295 kg silver along with other valuables. A spokesperson of GSB Seva Mandal located in King Circle, Mumbai said that this time as part of security arrangements, facial recognition cameras have been installed. Apart from this other famous Ganesh Mandals are at Chinchpokli, Ganesh Gali and Tezukaya. Apart from these, people will also get to see the city’s tallest 45 feet Ganesh in Khetwadi area of Girgaon. A police official said that more than 13,750 policemen have been deployed for security in Mumbai in view of the Ganesh Utsav.
Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations also began amid much fanfare in Pune, with major Ganesh mandals or groups taking out huge processions to welcome Lord Shri Ganesha. Traditional dhol-tasha (drum) troupes took part in the processions that started early in the morning.
