Mumbai sees 31,255 immersions, drop from over 46K last year

Amid Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) advisory asking citizens to immerse Ganpati idols at their homes in buckets or drums, the city saw 31,255 immersions

Amid Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) advisory asking citizens to immerse Ganpati idols at their homes in buckets or drums, the city saw 31,255 immersions on Sunday, day 1 of immersions during Ganeshotsav.

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Of the 31,255 idols immersed until 9pm, 621 were from pandals and 30,634 idols from homes, according to BMC. Every year, more than 35,000 idols are immersed on the end of the a day-and-a-half of festivities. Last year, more than 46,000 idols were immersed on Day 1.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the state had asked citizens and mandals to keep celebrations low-key and issued several guidelines to ensure social distancing norms are maintained. “Devotees who are celebrating Ganesh festival in their homes are advised to carry out immersion of the Ganesh idols at their homes in a bucket or a drum as their first preference,” the advisory, issued on Sunday morning, stated.

BMC said citizens can carry out immersions at 70 natural and 170 artificial ponds across the city by maintaining social distancing and hygiene norms. A list of the ponds is uploaded on the BMC website (http://stopcoronavirus.mcgm.gov.in/ganesh-visarjan-locations).

The civic body also banned processions for immersion rituals. Further, BMC also asked devotees to perform the rituals at their homes and prohibited rituals at immersion spots. Citizens were asked to wear masks, carry sanitisers and follow social distancing norms.

BMC also directed the pandals and homes in containment zones to either defer the immersions till the next year or make arrangements using buckets or drums for the process within the sealed area.

“Ganeshotsav mandals as well as citizens situated in containment zones shall immerse their Ganesh idols by creating necessary arrangement in the mandap/pandal and their homes itself. Alternatively, they can defer the immersion of the idols to next year. Devotees who are staying in sealed buildings shall mandatorily immerse their Ganesh idols in their homes itself (in bucket/ small drums) or postpone the immersion to the next year,” the advisory stated.

This year, the civic body also arranged for mobile immersion spots by installing water tanks in trucks.

Information on mobile immersion spots was also provided on the civic body’s website.