Mumbai: More than 66,700 Ganesh idols were immersed in various water bodies in Mumbai till Thursday (September 21) morning, civic officials said. The immersion of idols has gone smoothly so far without any untoward incident, they said. As part of the 10-day-long Ganeshotsav, dedicated to the elephant-headed god, idols of the deity are usually immersed after one and a half days, five days, seven days and ten days or as per family traditions. According to officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), a total of 66,785 “one-and-a-half-day” Ganapati idols were immersed in the sea and other water bodies, including artificial ponds, till 6 am on Thursday.
The idols were taken out and immersed amid chants of “Ganapati Bappa Morya”, the beating of drums, music and dance.
In Pics: Punarvartan: Revamping The Non-Renewable Clay To Make It Ganesh Chaturthi Ready
Of the immersion figures so far, BMC officials said, 66,435 were household Ganapati idols, while 350 were “sarvajanik”, or community, idols.
They said 27,736 idols were immersed in artificial ponds, set up to avoid pollution of natural water bodies, across the city. Of these, 27,564 were household Ganapati idols and the rest ‘sarvajanik’. The BMC claimed,
No untoward incident was reported anywhere during the immersion.
The BMC has earmarked 69 natural water bodies, including stretches off the coast, and created 191 artificial ponds for immersion this year.
Ganeshotsav is one of the biggest festivals in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra. Idols of the deity are brought home and installed at pandals during the 10-day celebrations that start on Ganesh Chaturthi – September 19 this year – and end on Anant Chaturdashi (September 28 this year).
Also Read: Water Conservation Campaign To Be Highlight Of Latur’s Ganesh FestivitiesPreviously.
Previously, on Wednesday, 7,000 Ganesh idols were immersed in Mumbai on Wednesday, the second day of the 10-day festival dedicated to the elephant-headed god.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – theLGBTQ population,indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the currentCOVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water,SanitationandHygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fightmalnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health,adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues likeair pollution,waste management,plastic ban,manual scavengingand sanitation workers andmenstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India wheretoilets are used andopen defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
