Ganesh festival: Tight security for immersion arrangements in Maha

Massive security arrangements would be in place in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and big cities like Pune, Nashik and Nagpur on Tuesday, when the 12-day-long Ganeshutsav draw to a close on the last day with the immersion of idols of the Elephant-headed Lord.

The year, 2017, marked the 125th year of the public Ganesh festival in Mumbai and Maharashtra.  As far as Mumbai was concerned, a majority of the the police force would be in the street for bandobast and traffic duties.

For Mumbai, the Maharashtra government had declared an official holiday on the occasion of Anant Chaturdashi.  The Ganesh festival commenced on 25 August, on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.

The Indian Navy and India Coast Guard choppers would mount aerial surveillance while patrol boats would maintain vigil along the coastline of Mumbai and its suburbs.
The main immersion site is at Girgaum Chowpatty - and Mumbai Police commissioner Datta Padsalgikar and BrihanMumbai Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta and inspected the arrangements.  HAM enthusaists would be helping the various agencies by making a second line of communication.

According to Ankur Puranik, the founder of Disaster Amateur Radio Emergency Services (DARES), an active HAM radio service in the state, while seven-member teams would be in place at Gurgaum and Chowpatties, while six at the Panvel creek.

Authorities in the coastal districts of Mumbai City, Mumbai Suburban. Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg and had appealed appeared to be careful and take note of the tide timings.

In Mumbai, the immersion sites – where a majority of Ganesha idols would be immersed, are located at Girgaum, Dadar and Juhu chowpatties, Powai lake, Versova beach, Mahim chowpatty, Marve beach and ponds at Sion, Bhandup, Aarey, Charai and Sanjay Gandhi National Park.

Search lights have been erected at several places. Lifeguards would be positioned throughout the day, till the immersion ends. Divers of the Indian Navy would be kept in readiness. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) too have beefed up security arrangements along the Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR) route particular along the Dadar station - the intersection point of CR and WR, Bandra, which joins CR and WR and Kurla, that joins the Main line with Harbour line of CR.

The immersion would start around the noon of Tuesday with small idols and continue well overnight and end in the wee hours of Wednesday with the immersion of big idols.