15 September,2026 10:32 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Dollar garland along with cash, gold and silver inside Lalbaugcha Raja`s donation boxes (Pic/X@IANS)
On the second day of Ganeshotsav 2026, members of the Lalbaugcha Raja committee opened the donation boxes at the pandal for the first time.
The committee also opened the specially designated gold and silver donation boxes.
As per IANS, the opening of the boxes revealed a range of offerings made by devotees who visited Lalbaugcha Raja during the festival. Among the donations were gold and silver ornaments, diamond jewellery and garlands made with dollar notes.
The donation boxes were opened in the presence of committee members as the offerings made by devotees were taken out for counting and further processing. However, the gold and silver offerings were kept separately as part of the process.
Lalbaugcha Raja attracts lakhs of devotees during Ganeshotsav, with people from Mumbai and across the country visiting the iconic pandal to seek the blessings of Bappa.
Devotees traditionally offer jewellery, precious metals and other valuables as part of their prayers and thanksgiving.
While Mumbai's most iconic Ganpati idol attracts thousands of devotees every year, the crowd at the Lalbaug began to swell from midnight on Sunday, September 14.
Devotees gathered in large numbers to seek darshan of Lalbaugcha Raja. Long queues were seen around the pandal as devotees from across Mumbai and beyond visited the pandal on the first day of the 12-day festival.
According to a devotee present at Lalbaugcha Raja, the waiting time for Mukh Darshan is around two hours.
Some chaos was reported at Lalabaugcha Raja on the morning of Day 1 of Ganeshotsav.
The devotee said some senior citizens and other devotees gathered near the police chowki after information about special passes began circulating among the crowd. However, police personnel deployed outside the chowki reportedly denied entry to devotees seeking special passes.
She also said that despite the large number of devotees at the pandal, drinking water facilities were not made available.
Furthermore, no mobile toilets were seen anyway near the pandal, despite the large number of devotees expected to queue up in the area for extended periods.
(With inputs from IANS)
