Several Ganpati mandals did not heed the ban imposed by the Pune City Police and used laser lights during the visarjan procession on Tuesday. Many Punekars took to X (formerly Twitter) and posted videos of the laser light show during the visarjan, questioning whether the police took any action against the violation.
A user wrote, "The police had imposed a ban on laser lights, but if mandals are still using them, it shows they have become so confident that they believe no action will be taken against them. We are gradually moving toward a system where laws and rules exist only on paper."
"Law & order in Pune is a complete joke! It only applies to common tax-paying citizens like us. Politicians' vote banks are never harmed while violating laws. While we only pay taxes, fines & penalties," commented another user.
A third user wrote, "The noise this CP (Amitesh Kumar) made when he took office—about law and order—and the state where we have actually landed is poles apart. Seems to be the absolute worst in recent times."
The ban was imposed after incidents where laser lights caused harm to people during last year's Ganeshotsav. The Police Commissioner had conducted a meeting with the mandals. Following the meeting, he had said, “After discussing with Ganesh mandals, we have decided to ban the use of laser beam lights during the immersion process.”
According to the data shared by Pune Police, close to 3,800 Ganesh mandals were registered with them this year.
Check out the reactions below: