Ganesh Chaturthi: Two drown, one missing during idol immersion in Thane

Two persons drowned while another went missing during the Ganesh idol immersion ceremonies in Wada taluka of Maharashtras Thane district according to the local policeThe victims were identified as Jagat Narayan Mourya 38 and Suraj Prajapati 25 who tragically drowned during the idol immersion event at Konsai village on Wednesday night The police control room reported that the bodies of the two victims were retrieved on Thursday morning with the assistance of firemen and diversIn another incident in Gorhe village within the same taluka Prakash Thackeray 35 went missing during the Ganpati idol immersion in a lake on Wednesday A search operation is underway to locate himThroughout Thane district a total of more than 43000 Ganesh idols were immersed including 18 at public locations following a oneandahalfday celebration during the tenday festival as confirmed by local authorities In Thane city alone 11910 Ganpati idols were immersed as reported by Yasin Tadvi the head of the Disaster Management Cell of the municipal bodyAlso read Mumbai More than 66700 Ganesh idols immersed till Thursday morning says BMCIn the neighboring Palghar district 4500 idols were immersed with great devotion and amidst religious fervor People joyfully danced to songs and music while the sound of drums filled the air as they bid farewell to their beloved elephantheaded deity chanting Ganpati Bappa Morya Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar Ya Lord Ganesha come back soon next yearMore than 66700 Ganesh idols were immersed in various water bodies in Mumbai till Thursday morning civic officials said The immersion of idols has gone smoothly so far without any untoward incident they saidAs part of the 10daylong Ganeshotsav dedicated to the elephantheaded god idols of the deity are usually immersed after one and a half days five days seven days and ten days or as per family traditionsAccording to officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC a total of 66785 ldquooneandahalfdayrdquo Ganapati idols were immersed in the sea and other water bodies including artificial ponds till 6 am on ThursdayThe idols were taken out and immersed amid chants of ldquoGanapati Bappa Moryardquo the beating of drums music and danceOf the immersion figures so far BMC officials said 66435 were household Ganapati idols while 350 were ldquosarvajanikrdquo or community idolsThey said 27736 idols were immersed in artificial ponds set up to avoid pollution of natural water bodies across the city Of these 27564 were household Ganapati idols and the rest sarvajanikldquoNo untoward incident was reported anywhere during the immersionrdquo the BMC claimedThe BMC has earmarked 69 natural water bodies including stretches off the coast and created 191 artificial ponds for immersion this yearGaneshotsav is one of the biggest festivals in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra Idols of the deity are brought home and installed at pandals during the 10day celebrations that start on Ganesh Chaturthi ldquo September 19 this yearrdquo and end on Anant Chaturdashi September 28 this year With inputs from PTI