Modern Ganesha idol immersion practices

Immersion practices in Mumbai: Though the Ganesha festival ends with immersion after ten days in most public communities, in many households, Ganesha immersion or Visarjan is done after 1 and a half days, 3 days, 5days, 7days or the 10th days per their convenience or family tradition.

Many people choose the least crowded day to immerse the Ganesha idol.

Those who opt for an eco-friendly Ganesha immersion, do it in a bucket or a tank. In Mumbai, artificial lakes are created to assist in the immersion procedure and also avoid water pollution.

The image below shows one such bucket immersion of a Ganesha idol

(Image source)

Community Assistance
Since in Mumbai, Ganesha Chaturthi is a community festival the assistance of many local and Government agencies is required to oversee the smooth functioning of the festival as well as minimum disruptions to everyday life on those ten days. A few examples of such assistance are presented below: The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has tried to assist in the Ganesha Visarjan process by introducing a mechanised system which is a novel concept for large idol immersions.

Brihan Mumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvaya Samiti (BSGSS) is a committee in Mumbai that oversees the functioning of the Ganesha Chaturthi festival in the different mandals every year An example of their responsibilities can be seen from the data of the festival in 2012. In this year BSGSS had under its umbrella over 10,500 public Ganeshotsav associations and 175,000 household Ganesh idols in the city. Based on prior experiences over the years this committee introduces practices or changes to make the festival a safe and incident free experience.

In the year 2012 they decided to limit the height of the tallest idols to be used in the Ganesha Chaturthi festivities to just 15 feet as against people making idols around 25-30 feet in the years earlier. There were several reasons behind this obsession for constructing tall Ganesha idols. Large idols attract devotees, sponsors, celebrities and media. They observed that in the past 10 years this increased height led to accidents and claimed lives of devotees. The advantages of using smaller idols were the cost of the idol and other associated costs of decorations hiring of security personnel to guard the idol during the 10days would reduce; handling of the idol through the narrow roads of Mumbai to reach the crowded beaches on the day of immersion would be easier and safer. Usually these processions create traffic snarls and stop suburban trains for hours. These processions also take long detours to avoid the flyovers dotting the city.

Temporary police lookout posts created at beaches during Ganesha immersion days

(Image source)

The problems continue even after the immersion, with many of the gigantic idols not getting dissolved in the seawater and washing ashore the next day, littering the beaches, creating environmental hazards and embarrassing the devotees.

They also advise the mandals to ensure that maximum immersion be done during the low tide, as per the central pollution control board guidelines to protect the environment.

They also request the Mandals to play traditional musical instruments instead of having DJs in a bid to control noise pollution and see that the 45-decibel limit is not crossed.

They appeal to the mandals to install CCTV cameras on vehicles carrying Ganesha idols to capture footage of the immersion procession.

Conclusion
With the immersion of the Ganesha idols, the 10-days-long Ganesh Chaturthi comes to an end. It’s a bitter-sweet feeling for the devotees, as they wait the whole year in anticipation for this, plan and work very hard to see that everything goes well and smoothly till the end.

Many feel it is the Lord Ganesha’s blessings and guidance, which ensure that all things go well.

The devotees in Maharashtra shout “ Ganapati bappa moriya, pudhchya varshi loukar ya” (which means- “Oh Ganesha, come soon next year” ) while bidding goodbye during the immersion of the dear Lord. This is a reassurance to themselves, that though goodbye is being bid presently, everyone looks forward to the Lord Ganesha returning the next year to take part once again in the festivities.