12 Ganesh idols to be immersed today

Organisers of the Shri Siddhivaradvinayakinayak Mandal, Andheri did not immerse its idol on the seventh day of the festival this year, discontinuing a 30-year-old tradition.

Organisers of the Shri Siddhivaradvinayakinayak Mandal, Andheri did not immerse its idol on the seventh day of the festival this year, discontinuing a 30-year-old tradition. Instead, the visarjan will take place on Wednesday on the occasion of Sakhar Sankashthi, and the organisers will stick to this routine henceforth to mark their wishes being fulfilled last year.

HT Image

“Last year, organisers as well as residents in the area prayed to Lord Ganesh for a temple in the area, and had promised to keep the idol till Sankashthi if the wish was fulfilled,” said mandal president Ravindra Sail. “This February, when the temple was inaugurated.”

According to the Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti (BSGSS), an umbrella body of ganesh mandals in the city, about 12 sarvajanik mandals in the city will perform visarjan on Wednesday, the biggest among them being the Azadnagar Sarvajanik Utsav Samitee, popularly known as Andhericha Raja.

“The tradition of performing visarjan during Sankashthi began in 1975. Earlier, it used to be done on Anant Chaturdashi. Several millworkers who lost their jobs after several mills shut down prayed to Lord Ganesh at the mandal for the mills to reopen, and when their wishes were fulfilled, they decided to keep the idol for a longer period and performed the visarjan on Sankashthi,” explained mandal spokesperson Uday Salian.