Pune Concludes Ganeshotsav 2025 With Over 33 Hours Of Vibrant Festivities; Ganesh Idols Immersed Amid Cheers

Pune: Ganeshotsav 2025 has finally concluded in Pune after extended Anant Chaturdashi Ganesh Visarjan celebrations. The Ganesh Visarjan procession began on Anant Chaturdashi, which was on Saturday, and continued the next day until Sunday evening. The Punekars bid goodbye to Ganpati Bappa in a grand way. With large-scale celebrations amid light rains, Ganesh idols were immersed throughout the city.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Union Minister of State and Pune MP Murlidhar Mohol, Maharashtra Minister of Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil, and many prominent politicians participated in the processions, saying goodbye to the beloved Bappa.

Set Timetable Goes Unfollowed

Pune Police had planned a timetable for the Ganesh idol immersion processions, which was not followed as the whole city was drowned in the festival conclusion fever. The central peths of Pune, right in the cultural capital's heart, were filled with a sea of people coming from all areas within the state. According to reports, the Ganesh Visarjan processions began at around 9:00 a.m. on Saturday. Compared to last year, this was one hour earlier.

Police had decided the timetable for the Five Manache Ganpati, the revered public Ganesh Mandals in Pune with over a century-long legacy. The first two Manache Ganpatis, the Kasba Peth Ganesh Mandal and Tambdi Jogeshwari, started their procession on time. However, many of the mandals that were supposed to follow were late to reach Belbaug Chowk, through which the procession begins. This delayed the whole city's processions.

Key Mandals’ Immersion Procession Concludes

In the afternoon, the processions slowed on Laxmi Road. Many mandals started their dhol-tasha performances in the Mandai, Belbaug Chowk, and Tilak Statue area. Due to this, the speed of processions became very slow. Pune Police had instructed not to have the dhol-tasha performances here, but this wasn’t followed. After that, the mandals that were going to start their processions in the evening also got delayed.

Despite the timetable not being followed, all the major Ganesh Mandals in the city, Kasba Peth, Tambdi Jogeshwari, Guruji Talim, Tulshibaug, Kesariwadi, Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai, Shreemant Bhausaheb Rangari, Sarasbaug, and many others, had their immersion done as the night of Anant Chaturdashi progressed. Many live displays were showcased while the procession was ongoing to entertain Punekars and to teach them about Pune's history, culture, and traditions.

“A Record-Breaking Crowd”

Many of the locals who live in the central parts of Pune said that this year a “record-breaking” crowd was witnessed. The whole peth area was filled with people as residents from nearby areas came to witness the festival's conclusion. The crowd slowly started dispersing as the major public mandals had completed their immersion processions by Sunday morning. However, key areas including JM Road, Alka Talkies Chowk, FC Road, and Deccan Corner were still filled with people celebrating their Ganesh idols’ immersion processions.

Umesh Kulkarni, a resident of Shukrawar Peth, said, "Like every year, even this year, the crowd we witnessed was huge. In my opinion, even more people came to witness the visarjan procession compared to recent years. At the peak of Anant Chaturdashi, there was no place to even set foot on the roads in Pune's central areas. The experience was overwhelming, just like every year."

Longest Procession Since Covid

According to media reports, last year the processions concluded in 28 hours 45 minutes, in 2023 they took 30 hours 25 minutes, and in 2022 they took 31 hours. As there were no processions in 2021 and 2020 due to the Covid-19 outbreak, this year had the longest procession timings since Covid. According to observations made by The Free Press Journal reporters covering the processions, the procession started at around 9:00 a.m. on Saturday and continued until 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, making this year’s procession last 33 hours.

Punekars Utilise Metro to Its Fullest

During the Ganeshotsav period, it is very tough to access the city's central area due to traffic restrictions, diversions, and congestion. Pune Metro, now operational in central peth areas with metro stations in Kasba Peth, Mandai, and PMC Building, proved to be very useful as Punekars used the metro to its full extent. On the final day of Ganeshotsav, the metro ran 41 hours non-stop. During the whole 10-day festival, an average of over 3 lakh citizens travelled through Pune Metro.

Twin Cities Anant Chaturdashi Celebrations

The twin cities of Pimpri-Chinchwad near Pune also concluded their Ganeshotsav on Saturday. Unlike Pune, the visarjan processions in Pimpri-Chinchwad were completed by early morning on Sunday. Major routes of the procession were from Chinchwad and Pimpri. Many mandals and dhol-tasha pathaks made their way to the Pawana River to conclude the festival.

Pimpri-Chinchwad residents gathered in huge numbers in the Gaonthan area. A large crowd of devotees could be seen at Chaphekar Chowk and Walhekarwadi in Chinchwad and at Camp, Sai Chowk, and Shagun Chowk in Pimpri. In other suburbs of Pimpri-Chinchwad city, many processions of Ganesh idols took place on the seventh and ninth days.