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On the last day of Ganeshotsav, Mumbaikars have begun their final journey with Ganpati Bappa and are headed towards visarjan sites all over the city. Devotees and Bollywood stars alike are taking over the streets to participate in the festivities. Stay with us for LIVE visarjan updates, special arrangements, traffic advisories and more. Ganpati Bappa Morya!
Silent immersion procession in Dharavi
Special Trains run for Ganpati devotees
Mumbai traffic alert: Avoid Malad, Aarey Road, Tilak Bridge, Mahim Causeway
Youth stabbed in Madhya Pradesh; One drowns in Rajasthan during immersion
Four die in Maharashtra in Ganpati immersion related activities on Tuesday
Ranbir Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan participate in Ganpati festivities
Lalbaug Cha Raja idol leaves pandal for immersion site
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis request devotees to protect the environment
Ganpati Bappa is leaving for a whole year and Mumbai converged to the streets to see the elephant god off. And even as devotees begged Bappa to return quickly, the city turned into a goldmine for photographers.
“Ganpati Bappa Morya! Pudhchya Varshi Lavakar Ya”
Mumbai never fails to surprise and Ganpati celebrations in the city’s infamous Dharavi area sprang not one but two this time. Not only were Muslim women participating in the aarti in one mandal - take that bhakts - another organised a silent immersion procession to keep the noise levels down. More power to these amazing people.
So what’s the visarjan like in cities other than Mumbai? As enthusiastic if not that crowded. Bappa is raising traffic awareness in Hyderabad for instance.
Ganesh visarjan in Madhya Pradesh’s Shajapur turned violent with a youth being stabbed to death. More details are awaited.
In another incident in Rajasthan’s Kota, a youth drowned while immersing a Ganesha idol in the Chambal river. Two others were rescued.
They did exemplary work during the Mumbai rains last week, giving food, water and shelter to stranded citizens. Today gurdwaras across Mumbai are providing Ganpati devotees - who have been on the road for hours - with water and refreshments. Check out how even the little ones are helping.
Mumbaikars are taking to Twitter to share traffic news. While the highways are exceptionally clear, there’s massive traffic in Malad, Aarey Road and Tilak Bridge. As always, trains are the way to go if you want to get anywhere on time.
There are literally millions of people on Mumbai roads to bid Bappa farewell. The whole city seems to have converged to Chowpatty. Here’s a glimpse:
And here’s even a Chhota Bheem carrying Ganpati on his shoulder!
And the cops are doing a great job managing the humongous crowd.
Western Railways will run eight special trains between Churchgate and Vihar on the last day of Ganpati celebrations. The Central Railway will run eight special local trains on September 9, 2017 to help the devotees who took part in the procession. These special locals will stop at all stations between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus – Kalyan/Thane on Main Line and between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus – Panvel on Harbour line.
While Aishwarya Rai Bachchan paid Lalbaug Cha Raja a final visit before the idol left the pandal for its immersion journey, Ranbir Kapoor joined his father Rishi Kapoor for visarjan festivities this year. Usually, Rishi is accompanied by his brothers Randhir and Rajiv Kapoor. Check out their pictures here.
According to a Firstpost report, four people have drowned in Maharashtra during Ganpati visarjan festivities on Tuesday.
Three children, aged between 8 and 10 years have drowned in Aurangabad during idol immersion. The incident reportedly took place in Shivnai lake, Bidkin, Aurangabad. The names of the three children were: Adarsh Kirtishai, Sagar Telbhate, and Rajesh Gaikwad. In a separate incident in Nashik, 20-year-old Kishor Kailas Lolage reportedly drowned while participating in visarjan.
Commercial designer turned designer baker, Rintu Rathod has been making eco-friendly Ganesha idols since 2011. She believes in devotion without destruction. Hence, she decided to make Ganpati idols purely with chocolate, using edible colours to decorate the deity. And how does she bid adieu to the elephant god? Watch the video to find out.
As we immerse ourselves in celebrating Ganesha’s arrival and departure, Devdutt Pattanaik helps us decode the symbolism of the idols that adorn our homes, and explains what the pot-bellied Ganesha’s annual 11 day festivities mean in the larger scheme of things.
The renowned author has also talked about the stories, symbols and rituals connected to India’s beloved elephant-headed deity in his book titled 99 Thoughts On Ganesha.
Ganpati bappa morya!
Actor Riteish Deshmukh celebrates Ganeshotsav with great enthusiasm every year. But this time, he’s in the US, away from the festivities back home. But that’s not cramping his style. Riteish made his own eco-friendly Ganpati and planned a clever visarjan too.
Last year too, Riteish paid tribute to Bappa in style with this video.
Devendra Fadnavis has an important message to share with fellow Mumbaikars- celebrate but also protect the environment.
The Lalbaug Cha Raja idol, one of the city’s grandest and most revered Ganesha idol has set out from its pandal towards its immersion site at Girgaun chowpatty. Want to join the procession? Refer to the route map tweeted by Mumbai Police.
Make sure you follow the traffic advisories issued by Mumbai Police to stay out of traffic and visarjan chaos, especially on the way to Sheetal Talao, Powai Lake and Girgaun Chowpatty.
This procession at Samadhan Chowk in Pune seems to be protesting against the limitation set by the police on the number of dhols playing, by boycotting drums altogether.
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