Dagdusheth Ganpati visarjan will be held inside the main temple

Mrunal Jadhav

Pune, 27 August, 2020: Every year the five Manache Ganpati and the Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati are immersed after a day-long (24-hours) grand procession with dhol and tashe reverberating the city and thousands of Puneities from across the city assemble at Alka Chowk to bid adieu Ganpati on the last day of the festival. This year as the Ganesh festival is celebrated differently, the immersions are also likely to be of low key.

The Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati has decided to immerse the Ganesh idol installed in the main temple for Ganesh Utsav inside the temple only. The trust president informed that considering the safety measures and to avoid crowding, the temple authorities have decided to conduct ‘Ganpati Visarjan’ in the temple instead of immersing in the river.

Ashok Godse, trustee of Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati temple, has also appealed to other Ganesh mandals in the city as well to immerse the idol of Ganesh at the Mandal itself. “Coronavirus cases are rising across the country, while the number of patients in Pune are increasing day by day. For the safety of devotees, we have started an online darshan program. A large number of devotees have supported our online darshan program. The board has taken another step and decided to immerse the idol of Bappa in the temple itself. And all the mandals in the city should also immerse their Ganesh idol in the mandap area. Puneities should also immerse their idols at home in water tanks”, Godse said.