From QR coded entry to postponing celebrations, Ganeshotsav organisers seek safe options

Members of Goud Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) Seva Mandal, King’s Circle, one of the richest Ganpati mandals in the city, met mayor Kishori Pednekar on Friday with a proposal

Members of Goud Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) Seva Mandal, King’s Circle, one of the richest Ganpati mandals in the city, met mayor Kishori Pednekar on Friday with a proposal to celebrate Ganeshotsav with new norms in the wake of Covid-19.

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The mandal suggested registering and allotting time slots online for devotees to visit the pandal. Those who cannot visit can pay their respects through an ‘online darshan’.

This year Ganesh Chathurthi celebrations begin on August 22.

RG Bhatt, trustee of the mandal, said that those who register online will be provided with a QR code and entry will entail scanning the code at a kiosk at the pandal. Prayers will be conducted only by the priest, and those who book prayers will receive offerings through a courier service.

“Social distancing norms do not allow for a procession and only members of the mandal will be allowed to take the idol for immersion to a place designated by the government. We can also carry out the immersion in our pandal as our idol is made of shadu clay,” he said.

He, however, added that a decision will be taken once the government considers their proposal, and the festival will be observed as per government norms. “There will be no anna daan [food donations] because we cannot have a large gathering of people at one place for food,” said Bhatt.

This year, the Goud Saraswat Brahmin Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samiti at Wadala decided to postpone festivities to February 2021, following which some mandals at Khetwadi followed suit.

Lalbaugcharaja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal, organisers of one of the most-visited pandals in the city are waiting for the state government to issue guidelines to start preparations. “Two months is enough to prepare, considering a large number of people cannot gather at one place in the current situation,” said Balasaheb Kamble, president of the mandal.

The Brihanmumbai Samanvay Ganeshotsav Sarvajanik Samiti (BSGSS), the umbrella body of Ganesh mandals in the city, has urged organisers to tone down celebrations this year and is expecting more devotees to pray from their homes. “When Bombay was affected by the plague in 1896, many prayed to photos of Ganpati on calendars since they could not get the idol home,” said Naresh Dahibhavkar, president, BSGSS. “We are hoping the state government will issue guidelines in the next eight to 10 days.”