Mira-Bhayandar: With 2,127 immersions recorded in the Mira Bhayandar region on occasion of Anant Chaturdashi on Thursday, the total count of Lord Ganesh idols which graced the twin-city during the 10-day Ganesh Utsav touched 20,144 bringing a peaceful culmination to the festivities amidst elaborate security arrangements by the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police force.
This apart from 297 idols of Goddess Gauri which were immersed on the fifth day. While the number of immersions on the second day topped at 8,307, devotees bid farewell to 2,127 idols of the loving elephant-headed God, including household and sarvajanik on the concluding day.
Mira-Bhayandar has 26 immersion points
The twin-city has a total of 26 immersion points which include- natural lakes, a creek, and two artificial ponds created by the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) for eco-friendly immersions. Municipal commissioner- Sanjay Katkar personally monitored and fine-tuned the arrangements at the micro level. The number of immersions in the two artificial ponds recorded by the civic administration crossed the 1,747 mark which is indicative of awareness and eco-friendly acceptance by devotees to keep a check on the unabated pollution of natural water bodies.
Strict vigilance during immersions
Apart from a large posse of police personnel, home guards and other security initiatives, a large network of closed circuit tele-vision (CCTV) cameras and special squads were deployed to maintain vigil during the immersion process which continued till late in the night. While the twin-city had bid farewell to 18,950 Lord Ganesh idols, last year indicating a 10 percent average rise every, the number of eco-friendly immersions was limited to around 700 in 2022 which shot up to 1,747 this year despite a reduction in the number of artificial ponds, highlighting the need of arrangements aimed at more such facilities.
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