Mandals get net savvy

As thousands of Ganesh idols are installed across the city on Saturday, some mandals will have another inauguration to look forward to. In a bid to gain more recognition, several mandals are launching their websites this year.

As thousands of Ganesh idols are installed across the city on Saturday, some mandals will have another inauguration to look forward to. In a bid to gain more recognition, several mandals are launching their websites this year.

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While a handful of major mandals, such as Lalbaugcha Raja, already have websites, many others are starting to follow suit. Parel’s Tejukaya Ganeshotsav Sarvajanik Trust, a prominent mandal in the area, will go online on Saturday morning.

“We didn’t want to be left behind,” said Mangesh Patade, secretary of the 43-year-old mandal that spent around Rs 20,000 on the website.

The portal, to be opened soon after the Ganpati sthapana (idol’s installation), will have comprehensive information about the mandal’s charitable activities. “It will also be a platform for tying up with NGOs and to seek donations,” said Patade, who wants the website to bring the mandal’s idol into everyone’s homes.

Girgaum’s KDGB Nivas Sarvajanik Mandal wanted to get even more interactive, so it decided to start a blog. The small mandal, housed in a wadi in Girgaum, has been in the limelight for installing an eco-friendly fibre idol, which they will not immerse. “We want more people to know of our efforts, and we want them to be able to access us if they choose to go eco-friendly too,” said Avadhut Gavhankar, president of the mandal.

Though www.kdgbganesha.blogspot.com does not have too many followers yet, the mandal hopes its popularity will pick up once it is officially launched on Saturday.

Mandals at Abhyudaya Nagar Colony and Kalachowkie are set to launch their websites too.

“We recognised the need to reach out to our colony residents who have settled abroad. A website seemed perfect,” said Mangesh Parab, president of the Abhyudaya Nagar Sarvajanik Mandal, run by the colony’s 3,500 residents.

To be officially launched at 6 pm on Saturday, www.abhyudayanagarcharaja.com will have a complete profile of the 52-year-old mandal with all its achievements and photographs. Close to Rs 35,000 was spent on designing the Marathi-English site.