Neighbourhood pandals and their Ganesh idols are a prominent part of Mumbai’s ten-day Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. On the final day, processions carried idols toward the sea, including at Girgaon Chowpatty, one of the city’s major immersion locations. Traditional dhol-tasha groups accompanied some processions, while devotees danced, chanted and gathered to bid farewell to the idols.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said it had arranged 12 artificial ponds, 20 observation towers, 22 rafts, 90 toilets, three ambulances and about 1,000 personnel at Swarajyabhoomi near Girgaon Chowpatty. Across the city, the civic body said it had made arrangements at 67 natural immersion sites: 44 beaches and jetties and 23 lakes. It deployed a total of 25,000 personnel for immersion operations.
The preparations also included alternatives intended to reduce pressure on natural water bodies. The corporation had set up more than 380 artificial immersion ponds at 278 locations for household idols. The facilities were presented as part of efforts to manage crowds and support more environmentally conscious celebrations.
The festival’s public displays range from locally organised pandals to prominent installations such as Lalbaugcha Raja, established in 1934 and known for drawing large numbers of devotees. In Parel, artisans worked on idols and processions accompanied the Parel cha Raja and other neighbourhood idols. The final-day immersion brings these separate community celebrations together in a citywide sequence of processions and civic operations.
Ganesh Chaturthi has become closely associated with Mumbai’s cultural life, with devotees visiting pandals throughout the festival before the idols are immersed. This year’s farewell on September 25 followed days of celebrations and extensive municipal preparations at both natural and artificial sites.