Lalbaug Sarvajanik Utsav Mandal of Ganesh Galli at Lalbaugh Parel, which is one of the most prominent Ganesh Mandals in the city, amidst the coronavirus outbreak has decided to bring only a four feet Ganesh idol this year. The 11 days annual Ganesh utsav will begin from August 22.
Swapnil Parab, Secretary of this mandal told the Free Press Journal, "Already the police, healthcare workers and other essential service employees are exhausted. If we celebrate the festival in this critical time also with same zeal by bringing a big idol it will eventually put burden on the system. As celebration means having security to control law & order situation as there will be crowd. So considering all these factors we have decided not to celebrate Ganesh utsav with much fanfare this year. Moreover, CM Uddhav Thackeray has advised everyone to bring idols which can be immersed in artificial ponds, so we have decided to support the move."
Every year the Ganesh Gali Sarvajanik Mandal brings two murtis --one for performing pooja and other big idol is to mark Ganesh utsav. However, this year there will be only one idol which will be immersed in an artificial pond to avoid large crowd, said Parab.
The previous year, the utsav murti of Ganesh Gali popularly called as Mumbai cha Raja was 22 ft tall. Interestingly, to avoid crowd and to follow social distancing norms, the mandal will also have the facility of taking an online darshan for devotees.
