First time in its long history, Mumbai's Lalbaughcha Raja Ganeshotsav Mandal has decided not to hold Ganeshotsav this year amid rise in coronavirus cases in Maharashtra. Lalbaughcha Raja Ganeshotsav Mandal has announced that a blood and plasma donation camp will be set up in the place of Lord Ganesh idol.
"Mumbai's Lalbaughcha Raja Ganeshotsav Mandal has decided that they will not celebrate Ganeshotsav this time in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. They will not establish Lord Ganapati's idol and will do social work for those 11 days of festivities," the officials told ANI.
Each year, Ganeshotsav is celebrated in a lavish manner in Mumbai, where lakhs of devotees visit the mandals to seek blessing from Lord Ganesh. Ganeshotsav also called Ganesh Chaturthi, is a festival that starts on the fourth day of Hindu luni-solar calendar month Bhadrapada, will start on August 22 this year.
Earlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had urged the Ganpati mandals in Mumbai to keep the height of the idols small and celebrate the 10-day Ganesh festival, beginning August 22, in a low-key manner.
In view of Thackeray's plea, all Ganeshotsav Mandals in the state, especially those which are renowned for the giant-sized idols, took a voluntary decision to restrict the height of Ganesha to less than four feet. The normal imposing, 15-feet plus tall idol of Lalbaugcha Raja, and other mega-idols in Mumbai, Pune and other cities will be conspicuous by their absence in the Maharashtra Ganeshotsav celebration starting August 22.
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