MUMBAI: The BMC has received 2,218 applications from Ganesh mandals to set up community pandals across the city. Of these, it has approved 1,389 — that’s 63% of the total applications, shows data from the BMC. Last year, the BMC had approved 1,700 applications amid the first Ganeshotsav festival in the time of the Covid pandemic. This year, the number of applications is expected to cross last year’s figure, say community organisers of the festival.
“People are a bit fed up of being kept indoors all along... Now, with many having taken the vaccination shots, more people are likely to join in the religious fervour with proper restrictions,” said Naresh Dahibavkar, president of Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshostsav Samanvay Samiti, an umbrella organisation of community organisations. “Somehow, the overall fear factor of the virus seems lesser this year,” he said.
However, the BMC has instructed that all Covid-appropriate behaviour be followed to pandals which have been given permission.
This year, in all, 601 applications (27%) are in the processing stage as the approval from the traffic police or the local police station is awaited, officials said, adding that the process should be completed by the weekend depending on the response from the police authorities. The BMC has rejected 228 applications (10%) of the total received.
Dahibavkar said they have requested the BMC to appoint a nodal official in each ward to process applications. “The ward officer is not present all day and often, permission to a mandal is held up as the final approval comes from him/her.”
Those taking Ganpati idols at home will have to immerse them in artificial ponds created by BMC and mandals will be allowed to immerse idols in the sea. But no gathering will be allowed and limited people from mandals can join in for the immersion. The BMC has also asked mandals to not have more than five people inside pandals and appealed to organise online darshan. Also those inside the pandal will need to be fully vaccinated.
