Shallow Tapi a dampener

Surat: For most of the devotees in the Diamond City, Ganesha Chaturthi festivities turned into a major disappointment due to scanty water in Tapi river.
The devotees in many areas, including walled city, Adajan, Rander, Jehangirpura, Pal, Athwalines and Parle Point were upset and many took out their respective processions before 12 pm to ensure that the idols are immersed early during the high tide of Anant Chaturdasi.
Most of the devotees turned to artificial ponds for immersing their idols, rather than waiting for their turn at the river ghats. However, many with the bigger idols headed to Kadi Falia at Dumas to immerse them in the sea.
"We took out the procession early on Thursday morning to ensure that the idol is immersed in the river on time. However, we had to wait for more than three hours at the ghat to immerse the idol," said Rakesh Chavda, a resident of Adajan.
Adajan Yuvak Mandal's Shailesh Patel said, "We had an idol of seven feet height. Since there was not much water in the river, the idol was kept aside. We have been called in the midnight for immersion by the organizers."
Another devotee, Nilesh Thakar, said, "Every year we immerse the idol in river. This time around, we decided to immerse it in the artificial pond at Adajan as there was less water in river."