Mumbai: Ganesh fest begins under Covid-19 shadow, CM prays for destruction of 'evil' virus

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday urged citizens to launch a strong movement against coronavirus and said he prayed to Lord Ganesh to destroy all evil and negativity as the 10day festival dedicated to the deity began amid the pandemic and looming threat of a third wavePeople welcomed Lord Ganesh in their homes and pandals in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra without pomp and gaiety and with focus on online darshan to avoid gathering as the state government has made it clear it does not want to take any chance in view of an uptick in cases especially in the metropolisFor the second straight year the pandemic cast a long shadow on Ganesh Chaturthi festivities with the Maharashtra government placing a slew of restrictions to avoid gathering and processionsUrging citizens to strictly follow coronavirus norms the CM said peoples health was more important than any festivalWe need to work towards eradicating the pandemic permanently by behaving as responsible citizens In the last two years we have been forced to impose restrictions in celebrationsPeoples lives and health are more important than any festival I am confident Lord Ganesh who is called Vighnaharta one who removes all hurdles will destroy the evil virus he saidThackeray asked citizens to use the festival to launch a movement to get rid of coronavirus by staying alert and following all normsJust like Lokmanya Tilak used the Ganeshotav to inspire people to fight the British all mandals and organisations should use the festival to create awareness about virus and ensure it is permanently destroyed Thackeray saidAlso Read Ganesh Chaturthi 2021 From Lalbaugcha Raja to Chinchpoklicha Raja heres how you can do online darshanHe was speaking after performing the customary puja at his official residence Varsha in south Mumbai where he welcomed Lord GaneshLeader of Opposition in the Assembly Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP reiterated his demand for reopening places of worship saying livelihood of people associated with them was severely impactedThe festival the most popular and awaited religious event in Maharashtra begins on Ganesh Chaturthi and ends on Anant Chaturdashi 10 days later with immersion of idolsThe Maharashtra government has banned physical darshan of Lord Ganesh at community pandals marquees and said only online darshan or telecast from pandals would be allowedAlso Read Ganesh Chaturthi 2021 Date timings history and significanceCiting the Covid19 situation the Mumbai police have imposed orders under CrPC section 144 prohibiting assembly of five or more persons during the Ganesh festival between September 10 and 19No processions of any kind would be allowed in Mumbai during this period and devotees would not be allowed to visit Ganesh pandals either an official statement said on ThursdayPeople can have darshan of Ganesh idols installed in pandals through the online mode or through other electronic media such as TV it saidThe Maharashtra home department has issued a circular banning visits to pandals so as to prevent the spread of the viral infectionAlso the height Lord Ganesh idols to be installed has been restrictedIn Mumbai there are around 12000 sarvajanik community mandals and nearly two lakh homes where idols of the deity are installedThe usual pomp was missing since processions have been banned Lord Ganesh made a quiet entry into the homes of his devoteesNaresh Dahibavkar president Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti told PTI that compared to last year when 90 per cent of the mandals had celebrated the festival in view of the coronavirus outbreak this year all of them are installing idols of the deityThe samiti is an umbrella body of Ganesh mandals that coordinates the festival between the BMC and government agenciesLast year Lalbaghcha Raja Mumbais most famous mandal had cancelled the celebration while Wadalas GSB Sewa Samiti another wellknown mandal had postponed the celebration to Magh Shudh charturthi in February this yearThe festival will be celebrated with usual fervour and gaiety unlike last year as the Covid19 vaccination drive is going on and there is awareness among people about the pandemic Dahibavkar saidIn view of the third wave threat all government protocols for Covid19 appropriate behaviour are being observed he saidDahibavkar criticised the government for banning physical darshanThis has been done at the last minute The stakeholders were not consulted Physical darshan was banned last year too We will suffer heavy losses since there will be no devotees to see the banners and posters of our sponsors he saidLivelihood of people associated with the festival which generates a turnover of Rs 70 crore to Rs 100 crore in Mumbai will continue to be impacted due to the pandemic Dahibavkar saidHe said Ganesh mandals have contributed to the state governments efforts to provide relief to people in floodaffected Konkan region and have also been doing social activitiesThe government should have considered our problems too he said adding The mandals have contributed Rs 40 lakh towards flood relief he saidThe state government has issued an order to ban physical darshan at mandals and said not more than ten people who have to be fully vaccinated would be allowed to bring the idol which should not be more than 4 feet in height at marqueesHome idols should not be more than two feet in height and only 5 people fully vaccinated will be allowed to accompany the idolThe administration has put restrictions during immersion of idols as wellIn the last two days markets were overcrowded with people making purchases to welcome the elephantheaded God raising concerns about the lack of physical distancingThe GSB Sewa Mandal which installs the idol for five days at Kings Circle in Mumbai said this years celebrations will be simpleIt said during the last one year the mandal has distributed food to relatives of patients in government hospitals and was in the forefront of relief and rehabilitation efforts during Konkan floods in JulyWe will celebrate the festival religiously like every year but without any devotee visiting the pandal as per government guidelines the GSB Sewa Mandal said in a statementLive darshan will be on the mandals social media platform it saidSeveral celebrities and political leaders also installed the deity at their homesIn Pune too devotees welcomed the elephantheaded God in their homes and at pandals Key Ganesh mandals in Pune including five manache revered mandals performed pranpratishtha installation of idols in pandals marquees following Covid19 protocolsMahesh Suryavanshi a trustee at Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati said the pranpratishtha of Punes ost endearing deity was performed inside the main temple in a simple mannerThe civic administration has appealed to all Ganesh mandals to celebrate the festival in a simple manner and make arrangements for online darshan for devoteesThis story has been sourced from a third party 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