Pune: Celebrate Festivals Without Causing Inconvenience To Others, Says Cultural Affairs Minister Ashish Shelar

Pune, 19th September 2026: Festivals should be celebrated as traditional cultural events without causing inconvenience to others, and all festival organisations and citizens should participate and coordinate to ensure this, state cultural affairs minister Ashish Shelar said on Friday.

Speaking to reporters after paying obeisance at the Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari Ganpati, Shelar said the chief minister had already made the state government’s position clear on the use of DJs during Ganeshotsav.

“Our position is that traditional cultural festivals should be celebrated with everyone’s consent and without causing inconvenience to anyone. There should be participation and coordination among all mandals and citizens,” Shelar said. He welcomed the stand taken by Pune-based businessman and festival organiser Punit Balan, who heads the Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari Ganpati Trust.

Shelar also attended a three-day cultural festival organised at the historic Shaniwar Wada premises by the state cultural affairs department to mark the granting of state festival status to Ganeshotsav.

“Pune is the birthplace of learning, culture and a rich historical heritage. The enthusiastic response to the three-day cultural festival has once again highlighted the city’s cultural richness. Next year, we will make this cultural festival the number one ‘Pune Festival’ in the state,” Shelar said.

He said the scale of Ganeshotsav was unique because of the participation of citizens, social and national awareness initiatives, cultural programmes, large gatherings of devotees, decorations and longstanding traditions. He said the decision to grant Ganeshotsav the status of a state festival was taken after MLA Hemant Rasane had raised the demand and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis directed that the proposal be taken forward.

Shelar also appealed to citizens to share their memories, stories, traditions and cultural experiences associated with both household and public Ganeshotsav celebrations on the bappa.org platform. He said the initiative would help document the cultural heritage of Ganeshotsav and support efforts towards seeking UNESCO recognition for it as an intangible cultural heritage. A large number of citizens and devotees attended the event.