Mumbai: GSB Seva Mandal, known for hosting the richest Ganpati celebration in the city with a Rs. 400 crore insurance cover this year, received Rs 11.5 crores receipted donations along with about a crore rupee deposited in cash in the hundi boxes. Some notable offerings from devotees in terms of silver and yellow metal were also received weighing within 30 kg and 200 g, respectively.
"Donations have come in huge numbers through pujas and offerings from those whose 'mannat' has been fulfilled. The puja bookings have recorded Rs 11.5 crores. Impressively, there's also some offering that has come in silver and gold," Amit Pai, the President of the GSB Seva Mandal said.
Amit Pai, the President of the GSB Seva Mandal | File Photo
It was learned that a devotee from South India donated some silver utensils which are estimated to be within 30 kg. This comes alongside another devotee offering 200 g of yellow metal, which is yet to be verified as gold or not in terms of purity.
The president then mentioned about the cash collected this year and said, "While our visarjan took place a week ago (Sept. 11), the cash boxes are still being counted and an estimated amount of one crore has been deposited here."
He further pointed out that the pandal was visited by 1.8 times more devotees this year, compared with the last year data where 72,000 people participated in the festive celebration. Notably, there were 82,000 pujas performed here, of which 30,000 were havan dedicated to Lord Ganesha.
A total of eight lakh devotees visited the GSB Ganpati pandal during the 5-day festival period hosted at King Circle, with nearly 1.75 lakh people taking darshan of Bappa each day. The highest rush was witnessed on the third day of the Ganesh Utsav celebration, September 9.
"It was surprising for us to see a peak on not weekends, but on a Monday where the food service (Annadanam) count itself went up to 30,000. There was a footfall of over 2.5 lakh devotees on that day," Pai noted. "Usually 20,000 people take the benefit of the free food service every day, but this time we saw an average of 25,000," he added.
The GSB Seva Mandal considers the Ganesh Utsav celebration as one of the significant periods where they receive donations from devotees. Along with the grand celebration of the Ganpati festival, the organisation is known for community service and charity works towards the needy.
