Major Pune mandals like Dagadusheth Halwai, others complete idol immersion by late evening

The renowned Shrimant Dagadusheth Halwai Ganpati Mandal in Pune on Thursday broke its tradition of joining the immersion procession in Maharashtra's second largest city post midnight by starting the process in the afternoon and immersing the idol by 9pm.

Incidentally, this year, the Pune police had asked all organisers to complete the procession and immersions quickly.

The Shrimant Dagadusheth Halwai Ganesh Mandal, Bhau Rangari Ganesh Mandal, Akhil Mandai Ganesh Mandal and other key mandals traditionally join the procession post midnight and their idols get immersed in the early hours of the day after Anant Chaturdashi.

Mahesh Suryawanshi, a trustee of the Shrimant Dagadusheth Halwai Ganapati Temple Trust, said they joined the procession at 4pm and the idol was immersed by 8:50pm.

Idols of the 'five manache Ganpati mandals' of the city were immersed through the evening amid huge crowds, beating of drums and traditional fervour that steady rains could not dampen.

Earlier in the day, processions of the city's five most prominent mandals - Kasba Ganpati, Tambadi Jogeswari, Gurji Talim, Tulshi Baug and Kesariwada - started with much fanfare as devotees played drums and chanted 'Ganapati Bappa Morya, Pudchya Varshi Lavkar Ya', (Hail Lord Ganesh, come back soon next year).

A number of celebrities from Marathi cinema were also seen trying their hands on dhol-tasha, the traditional percussion instruments, during a procession on Laxmi Road, the main route of the immersion processions.

More than 7,000 police personnel, officers, and home guards were deployed to ensure the procession and immersions went off without any untoward incident.

Bomb Detection and Disposal Squads (BDDS), Quick Response Teams (QRTs) and dog squads were stationed at various spots en route, as per police.

There are 3,865 Ganesh mandals in Pune, while 6,14,257 idols of Lord Ganesh were installed in homes in Pune.