Ganpati festival: 2,904 idols immersed in Pune; processions go on for more than 30 hours

As many as 2,904 Ganesha idols of 'sarvajanik' mandals were immersed in Maharashtra's Pune in processions that went on for more than 30 hours on the last day of the Ganpati festival, police said. The immersion processions of various mandals began at 10.15 am on Anant Chaturdashi on Thursday and ended at 4.40 pm on Friday, the longest in recent years, they said.

The police had appealed to important mandals such as Shrumant Dagadusheth Halwai Ganesh Mandal, Bhau Rangari Ganesh Mandal, and Akhil Mandai Ganesh Mandal among others to begin the processions early, an official said.

However, despite this, the overall immersion of idols was delayed, he said.

Pune is home to 3,865 Ganpati mandals, and 6,14,257 idols were installed in homes during the 10-day festival that ended on Thursday.