Pune Ganesh Visarjan: Amitesh Kumar Explains Who Can Join Main Procession This Year
Pune, 21st September 2026: The Pune Police will allow Ganesh mandals that have participated in the city’s main Ganesh Visarjan procession for the past two or more years to join this year’s procession as a special case, Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said on Monday.
A policy decision regarding the participation of mandals formed after the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as those that have been allowed to participate temporarily over the past two to three years, will be taken from next year, Kumar said.
The Pune Police had issued notices to around 150 Ganesh mandals, informing them that they would not be permitted to participate in the main immersion procession this year. Following the notices, office-bearers of the affected mandals met Kumar on Monday to raise their concerns.
Joint Commissioner of Police Sanjay Darade and Additional Commissioners of Police Manoj Patil and Sanjay Bansode were also present during the meeting.
Existing mandals to get permission
Kumar said mandals that have participated in the main procession for at least the past two years will be permitted to participate this year as a special measure through Kelkar Road and Kumthekar Road.
Applications have also been invited from other mandals, and permissions will be granted based on the applications and the applicable arrangements, police said.
Ganesh mandals celebrating a special anniversary or festival year will also be permitted to participate in the main procession.
Public Ganesh mandals from the central peth areas that participated in the procession for the first time last year or are participating for the first time this year will be given an opportunity to join the procession through Kelkar Road, Kumar said.
Police cite crowd management
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, some Ganesh mandals from the Chaturshringi and Shivajinagar areas were permitted to join the main immersion procession through Kelkar and Kumthekar roads.
However, the police have taken the position that newly participating mandals should not be added to the main routes in order to ensure the smooth movement of the procession and manage crowds.
Mandal workers oppose decision
Office-bearers and workers of mandals whose participation was initially denied opposed the police decision and demanded that they be allowed to participate on the main procession routes as they did last year.
The mandals also raised concerns over the decision being taken just five days before the start of Ganeshotsav, saying it could lead to dissatisfaction among organisers.
604 mandals participated last year
A total of 604 Ganesh mandals were permitted to participate in the main immersion procession last year. Of these, 237 joined through Tilak Road, 266 through Laxmi Road, 79 through Kelkar Road and 22 through Kumthekar Road.
The procession took 32 hours and 26 minutes to conclude last year.
With the aim of reducing the overall duration of this year’s procession, the Pune Police have decided not to allow newly participating mandals on the main routes, while making exceptions for mandals that meet the stated criteria.
