Mira Bhayandar: With 2,101 immersions recorded on occasion of Anant Chaturdashi (final immersion day) on Tuesday, the total number of Lord Ganesh idols which graced the twin-city during the 10-day festival touched 20,668 mark.
As per official comparative statistics provided by the civic body, a marginal increase of 125 idols had been registered. The figure had stood at 20,543 in 2023 and 19,571 in 2022.
Besides elaborate arrangements made by the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) at the 27 immersion points including four artificial ponds, the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police had beefed up security to ensure that the festival which is marked by devotion as well as enthusiasm passed off peacefully with no untoward incidents being reported.
On the concluding day, devotees bid farewell to 2,101 idols of the loving elephant headed God including 3192 and 17,476 made out of the eco-friendly shaadu (natural clay) and Plaster of Paris (PoP) respectively. The civic administration had created four artificial ponds to facilitate eco-friendly immersions.
A total of 1,989 idols were immersed in the artificial ponds. Last year the number of immersions in artificial ponds stood at 1,747 which is indicative of the eco-friendly acceptance by devotees towards keeping a check on the unabated pollution of natural water bodies.
