2,284 mandals given permission for Ganapati this year

According to the civic data, the BMC has received 3,487 applications, out of which 491 have been rejected at various levels and 562 applications have been reported of duplication

Mumbai With just a day left for Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has given permission to 2,284 mandals this year to hold the festivities.

The data also states that the number of applications received this year is much more than past two years, when Ganeshotsava was restricted in Mumbai owing to pandemic-induced restrictions (VIjay Bate)

According to the civic data, the BMC has received 3,487 applications, out of which 491 have been rejected at various levels and 562 applications have been reported of duplication.

The data also states that the number of applications received this year is much more than past two years, when Ganeshotsava was restricted in Mumbai owing to pandemic-induced restrictions. The BMC received 2,540 applications in 2021, out of which permission was granted to 1,660 mandals. Before that in 2020, the civic body had received 2,315 applications out of which permission was granted to 1,929 mandals.

However, in pre-pandemic 2019, the BMC had given permission to 2,615 mandals out of 3,036 applications that it had received.

Meanwhile, civic officials said that the number of permissions may increase further. “Every year, we give permission to around 85% of the total applications that we receive. Till date, we are at around 78%, so in the next one or two days, we are expecting the numbers to go up,” said the official. He added that the last day of receiving applications was August 26 and BMC has still been scrutinising the applications.

Naresh Dahibavkar, president of the Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsava Samanvyay Samiti, said that this time, the number of applications increased compared to the past two years.

“For those who discontinued their celebration owing to the pandemic are using their 2019 reference numbers for verification and ease of access to the system. Many organisers whose applications were rejected earlier have re-submitted their forms by making all corrections and we are expecting the numbers to increase more in the days to come,” he said.