MUMBAI: The 11-day Ganpati festival, which was celebrated in a low-key manner this year in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, concluded with the immersion of over 28,000 idols of Lord Ganesh in Mumbai, an official said on Wednesday.
The immersion of idols, which began on Tuesday morning on the occasion of 'Anant Chaturdashi', marking culmination of the festivities, continued till the early hours of Wednesday.
A total of 28,293, including 3,817 installed at public mandals and 24,476 installed by citizens at their homes, were immersed in various water bodies in the city by 3 am on Wednesday, an official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.
Out of these, 13,742 idols were immersed in artificial ponds set up for the purpose, he said.
"No untoward incident was reported during the immersion," the official said.
Total 445 immersion facilities were arranged in the city, including 168 artificial ponds, 170 mobile idol collection centres, 37 mobile immersion points and 70 natural immersion spots, he said.
The civic body appointed 23,000 staff members at various locations for smooth conduct of the immersion rituals, he added.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray earlier called for a simple and low-key festival celebration this year in view of the pandemic, and asked Ganesh mandals to undertake social welfare programmes.
He also said Ganesh mandals should not install idols with a height of more than four feet during the festival.
The Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesh Mandal, which installs Mumbai's most famous Ganpati idol, cancelled the Ganesh Chaturthi celebration this year due to the pandemic.
The GSB Ganeshotsav Samiti in Wadala area here postponed the celebration to 'Magh Shudh Chaturthi' in February next year.
With the pandemic casting its grim shadow, Mumbai witnessed a much quieter Anant Chaturdashi, which marks the end of the 11-day Ganesh festival, on Tuesday.
Devotees bid adieu to Lord Ganesh like every year, but there were no endless processions winding their way through bylanes and main roads , no `DJ' systems blaring songs, no dancing in the streets.
Idols were immersed in the sea, lakes as well as artificial ponds built by the municipal corporation.
Devotees were seen walking towards beaches of Girgaum, Dadar, Juhu, Marve and other coastal immersion points carrying idols, chanting "Ganpati Bappa Morya, Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar Ya" (come sooner next year).
More than 35,000 police personnel were deployed across the city.
The police also monitored the streets and beaches with the help of about 5,000 CCTV cameras.
To avoid crowding, police had appealed people to perform final `arati' and puja before setting out from home and not at immersion spots, as is the wont.
`Mandals' or groups that organise Ganesh festival in pandals were directed to strictly follow social distancing norms in view of the coronavirus pandemic.