Mumbai Celebrates Ganesh Visarjan Amid Rain and Security Threats
The 10-day-long Ganesh festivities culminate today as people gather to celebrate the day of Anant Chaturdashi on Saturday (September 6). As it's the last day of Ganesh Chaturthi, people have gathered for the visarjan (Ganesh idol immersion) across Mumbai, with great enthusiasm.
The ten days were lightened with Ganpati pandals, people illuminating their homes with Bappa's idols, and offering modaks and sweets as the whole country was celebrating one of the biggest festivals.
Today (Saturday), the lord Ganesh idols will be immersed in water bodies across Mumbai as people will be bidding farewell to him, marking the Ganesh Visarjan.
From heavy rains pouring across Mumbai during the Ganesh festivities, to the bomb threat on Friday, nothing has stopped people from celebrating the Ganesh festival with any less enthusiasm.
Mumbai Rains and Ganpati Celebrations
This year too, Mumbai witnessed heavy rainfall during and before the Ganesh Chaturthi festival; however, the people of Mumbai remained unaffected by that.
Today, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a yellow alert for Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, and Raigad as it warned of heavy rainfall at some locations. The authorities have urged citizens to take caution during Ganesh Visarjan processions and avoid going near the seashore during high tides.
Standing Strong Against Bomb Threat
Earlier today, a man was arrested for allegedly sending a bomb threat to the Mumbai Police. The 51-year-old man threatened to kill '1 crore people' in Mumbai, where people have been celebrating the Ganesh festival.
The message further read that 14 Pakistani terrorists had entered India and are set to 'shake' the city with dozens of blasts. Hours later, a man was arrested in Noida for allegedly making these threats.
As it happened amid the ongoing Ganesh festivities, the Mumbai Police issued a high alert and intensified security across the city.
Today, more than 1.75 lakhs Ganesh idols will be immersed at different water bodies. Along with that, at least 6500 community Ganesh idols will also be immersed.
For managing and safety purposes, 21,000 police personnel are deployed today across Mumbai, including 3000 officers, 18,000 police personnel, 12 additional commissioners of police, 40 police commissioners, and 61 assistant commissioners.
This year, the authorities will also be using AI for traffic and route management and tracking the crowd. Moreover, 10,000 CCTV cameras will be monitoring the city, along with drone surveillance monitoring crowd movement at major locations.
