With no Covid curbs, Maharashtra soaks in Ganesh Chaturthi festivities

Devotees welcomed Lord Ganesh on Wednesday in their homes and pooja pandals with fervour marking the commencement of the tenday festival which is being celebrated without any COVID19 restrictions after two yearsExcitement reigned with calls of Ganpati Bappa Morya as people in urban and rural areas and noted personalities including Bollywood celebrities welcomed Lord Ganesh and offered modaks a traditional Maharashtrian delicacy as prasadDevotees thronged prominent Ganesh pandals like the Lalbaugcha Raja in southcentral Mumbai in large numbers standing in queues for several hoursActor Kartik Aryan was one of the film personalities to visit the Lalbaghcha Raja on the first day of the festivalMany big Ganpati mandals had brought the idols much before the festival began Many pandals designed decorations based on different themes with a social messageAlso read Ganeshotsav 2022 Five Ganpati pandals to visit in MumbaiDevotees also thronged the famous Siddhivinayak temple in Prabhadevi in central MumbaiIn Pune known as the cultural capital of Maharashtra traditional dholtasha drum troupes accompanied the processions which began around 10 AMFollowing a grand procession the pranpratishtha consecration of Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati one of the most prominent Ganesh in the city was performed in the pandal designed as a replica of the Panch Kedar templeThe processions of the five Manache Ganpati the Ganesh idols which enjoy precedence in the last days immersion procession namely Kasba Tambdi Jogeshwari Guruji Talim Tulshibaug and Kesariwada were also carried out with much fanfareIn the coastal Konkan region also Lord Ganesh was welcomed with much enthusiasm and gaietyTens of thousands of Mumbaikars who hail from Konkan travel to their villages for the festival every yearThe festivities remained subdued for the last two years due to the coronavirus pandemic curbs which prohibited large gatheringsAmong political leaders Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde welcomed Lord Ganesh at Varsha his official residence in south MumbaiDeputy CM Devendra Fadnavis consecrated the idol of Lord Ganesh at his official residence Sagar in MumbaiMaharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray welcomed the Lord at Shivtirth his new residence at Dadar in central MumbaiShinde conducted puja of the Ganesh idol with his wife Lata son and Lok Sabha MP Shrikant Shinde and his grandson RudranshIn a statement the chief ministers secretariat said Shinde sought the blessings of Lord Ganesh for the happiness and contentment of the people of the stateLater the Shinde family also welcomed Ganesh at their private residence in ThaneFadnavis told reporters he was happy that the festival was being celebrated in Mumbai and the state with the usual fervour like the prepandemic daysLeader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Ajit Pawar extended greetings to the people on the occasion of Ganesh ChaturthiRaj Thackeray was seen clicking a photo on his mobile phone of his son Amit daughterinlaw and grandson praying to Lord GaneshCongress leader and former chief minister Ashok Chavan offered prayers to the Lord at his residenceMany Bollywood and TV personalities celebrated the Ganesh Chaturthi with much fervour some bring Ganesh idols to their homes while others visit Ganpati pandalsLike every year Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra welcomed Lord Ganesh at their Juhu residence with much zeal She posted a boomerang video of her along with her husband and two kids ndash son Viaan and daughter SamishaSuperstar Salman Khans sister Arpita Sharma too received the deity at her home in suburban BandraBollywood biggie Shah Rukh Khan took to Instagram to share how he and his younger son AbRam welcomed Lord Ganpati at their homeldquoGanpatiji welcomed home by lil one and mehellipthe modaks after were delicioushellipthe learning is through hard work perseverance amp faith in God u can live your dreams Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to all he wroteActor Neil Nitin Mukesh son of veteran singer Nitin Mukesh posted a happy family picture on his social media handleldquoFestival Ready ganpati 2022rdquo the actor wrote on Instagram alongside a series of photos of his familyOther celebrities who bring Bappa home are actors Jeetendra Kapoor Sonali Bendre Isha Koppikar and comedians Bharti Singh and Krushna Abhishek among othersThe public celebration of the festival in Maharashtra dates back to the 1890s when the nationalist leader Bal Gangadhar Tilak and others decided to use it to mobilize the massesDevotees thronged vegetable and flower markets sweet shops and roadside stalls for buying flowers puja materials sweets and decorative itemsTo ensure the smooth passage of the festival the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC has set up 188 control rooms in 24 civic wards across the cityAt least 10000 civic employees including officials have been put on alertThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever