“We have decided not to trouble our Ganesha this time,” said a mandal member, who along with several others in Kalyan and Thane is disappointed with the poor condition of the roads they take for Visarjan. The roads in the two cities remain uneven and pothole-ridden even though the corporations assured to fix them before Ganesha utsav, which begins in just three days.

Sajanand Chowk road in Kalyan is riddled with shallow craters and poses a grave danger to the thousands of devotees who take the route for the grand send-off. Ganesh Mandal from Shahad area, under the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), has witnessed a few accidents of their own people in the past, while heading for Visarjan. This year, they have decided to use artificial ponds at their home for Visarjan to avoid the pothole-ridden roads.