Mumbai Gears Up for Grand Ganesh Festival

The financial capital of India is set to celebrate the ten-day Ganesh festival, starting Saturday. Over 2,500 Ganesh mandals have received permission to set up pandals, with rituals and installations happening at homes and public spaces. Popular markets are bustling with shoppers, and security is being tightened with a significant police presence.

More than 2,500 Ganesh mandals and lakhs of households in the financial capital of the country will be celebrating the ten-day Ganesh festival from Saturday.

Authorities received 3,358 applications from Ganesh mandals, and 2,635 were granted permission to set up pandals as of Friday, according to a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official. Another 300 applications are pending approval, he said. Many mandals have already brought their Ganpati idols with grand processions over the last two-three days.

Rituals to install the idols in homes and pandals will commence on Saturday. Markets such as Crawford, Lohar Chawl, and Dadar were crowded with people buying flowers, sweets, puja materials, and decorative items. Bright, coloured lights illuminate streets and bylanes in Lalbaug, Parel, Girgaon, Andheri, Chembur, Fort, and other areas known for their famous Ganapati mandals.

Popular pandals like 'Lalbaugcha Raja' attract lakhs of devotees during the ten-day festival. Other well-known mandals include Chinchpokli, Ganesh Gully, and Tejukaya. Matunga-based GSB Seva Mandal, known for its Lord Ganesha adorned with gold jewellery, is considered one of the wealthiest mandals. Around 15,000 police personnel will ensure security for the next ten days, officials said.