Richest Ganpati mandal fetched Rs 8 crore in donations

MUMBAI: The richest Ganpati mandal in the city, Goud Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samiti, King’s Circle received Rs8.15 crore donations in cash,

MUMBAI: The richest Ganpati mandal in the city, Goud Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samiti, King’s Circle received Rs8.15 crore donations in cash, around 30 lakh more than last year’s collections.

HT Image

The mandal also received jewellery worth more than Rs10 lakh. Satish Nayak, a member of the mandal trust said they got around 350g gold, valued approximately at Rs10 lakh and 1.5kg silver worth Rs70,000. The mandal expects Rs1 crore from advertisements and sponsors.

However, Lalbaugcharaja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal’s donations seem to have dipped compared to last year. The most famous mandal in Mumbai just more than Rs6.5 crore in cash compared to Rs7.5 crore last year. The mandal is still counting the large mound of coins left by devotees. It also received more than 5kg gold and 79 kg silver donations this year compared to 6.5kg gold and 101kg silver last year.

The mandal has begun its annual auction of the idol’s jewellery. “This year, the auction includes a 1.16kg gold charan (feet), a 123g gold necklace, two chains weighing 100g each, four gold biscuits of 100g each and four motor bikes,” said Mahesh Jadhav, treasurer of Lalbaugcha Raja.

“We fetched close to Rs60 lakh in donations with around 25-30% of the donations yet to be counted,” Ulhas Kamat, president of the GSB Seva Mandal told HT.