28 August,2026 08:18 AM IST | Mumbai | Eeshanpriya MS
Faith fuels the tradition as devotees carry Bappa’s idol during the city’s Ganesh festival. File pics
Mumbai's Sarvajanik Ganesh festival remains defined by massive idols reaching up to 47 feet, despite repeated attempts by civic authorities to impose height caps. Safety concerns have resurfaced after the 22-foot Bhuleshwarcha Raja idol collapsed in Girgaon on Saturday night, killing two people and injuring five others, including two children. Over 3200 city pandals continue to install large-format idols despite repeated regulation attempts.
[popcorn number="2022" desc="Year when BMC tried to cap Ganpati idol heights at 4 feet" class="Default"]
Mumbai holds global achievements for its large-scale idols
Mandals temporarily used smaller idols during the COVID-19 pandemic following state requests. In 2022, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) attempted a 4-foot height limit, but restrictions were lifted after mandals met with then-chief minister Eknath Shinde. Furthermore, the Bombay High Court's 2025 directives, allowing idols above six feet to be immersed in the sea and permitting the use of Plaster of Paris (PoP), have also stalled the debate over height restrictions.
The trend began in 1977 when Ganesh Gully's Mumbaicha Raja erected a 22-foot idol. Since then, mandals have engaged in an unspoken competition for height, leading to Girgaon's Khetwadi erecting a 47-foot idol in 2023. A member of the Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti said the competition is driven by human nature.
A member, Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti
"Khetwadi installed a 40-foot idol a few years after Ganesh Gully's 1977 installation, marking the beginning of the 40-plus-foot idols in Mumbai. The 47-foot idol came later and was installed by the same mandal."
Samiti representative,
"When one mandal installs a very tall idol, and it receives tremendous response from the community, another mandal wants to replicate the same thing."
