Ahead of the upcoming Ganeshotsav festival, the BMC has instructed its road department engineers to physically inspect all idol arrival and immersion routes across Mumbai’s administrative wards. The primary focus of this on-foot assessment is to ensure the roads have smooth surfaces by identifying and fixing potholes, addressing uneven patches, and removing risky speed breakers that could unexpectedly jolt vehicles carrying large idols.

This administrative action follows direct instructions from Ashish Shelar, the Maharashtra Cultural Affairs Minister and Guardian Minister of Mumbai Suburbs, who mandated that all idol routes be inspected within a 24-hour window. Shelar’s instructions came a day after two people were killed, and five others  were injured, after a 22-foot-tall Ganesh idol toppled on Bhuleshwar Road.