Pune Ganesh Visarjan: 21 Noise Pollution Cases Registered, Action Pending In 400 More

Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Alka Chowk, 26th September 2026: Crowd safety and preventing stampede-like situations were the Pune Police’s top priorities during the Ganesh immersion procession, regardless of how many hours the procession took, Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said on Saturday.

“The Ganesh immersion procession was conducted peacefully and with enthusiasm. Instead of focusing on how many hours the procession took, the police’s highest priority was ensuring the safety of citizens and preventing any stampede amid the crowds of lakhs of devotees,” Kumar said while speaking to reporters after the last mandal crossed Lokmanya Tilak Chowk on Saturday evening.

He said there was no major law-and-order issue during the 12-day Ganesh festival or the immersion procession and thanked Pune residents and Ganesh mandals for their cooperation in ensuring the festival concluded peacefully.

Kumar said over three lakh people travelled by Metro to the central parts of Pune every day during the Ganesh festival. On the immersion day, the Metro recorded a peak of six lakh passengers travelling until midnight, contributing to the large crowds in the central areas.

The police used technology-based systems for crowd management and deployed personnel from the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF), Quick Response Team (QRT) and Traffic Branch, along with volunteers. Kumar said that despite heavy crowds at Tilak Chowk, 35 ambulances were able to pass through the area safely and on time.

Police monitoring noise pollution
Kumar said Ganesh mandals had made positive efforts to comply with noise pollution regulations compared with last year. As of September 23, police had registered 21 cases for violations of noise pollution norms during the Ganesh festival.

Legal action is also being initiated by the competent authorities in around 400 other cases, he said.

The police are compiling noise pollution readings recorded over the two-day immersion period. Kumar said strict action would be taken against those found violating prescribed noise limits during the immersion processions.

Police defend procession duration
Kumar said large crowds were witnessed around Belbag Chowk, Seva Sadan Chowk, Puram Chowk and Tilak Chowk, and the police had planned crowd-management measures accordingly.

He said Ganesh mandal office-bearers and volunteers also played an important role in managing the crowds.

According to Kumar, the procession took roughly the same amount of time this year as it did last year. Around 650 mandals were arriving at Tilak Chowk through four major routes from 1 pm on Friday.

Since 237 mandals were using Tilak Road, the procession moved at a relatively slow pace at certain points. Kumar said forcing mandals to move faster in such circumstances could have created additional risks from a crowd-management perspective.

“It was safer to take a little more time than risk an untoward incident,” he said.

Kumar said the police would consider, through discussions and consensus with stakeholders, future changes to procession routes, including determining how many mandals should use each route and whether some mandals could be diverted to alternative routes.

Civic agencies thanked
Kumar also thanked Pune Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram and his team for arrangements made for devotees during the festival.

He said the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) had made arrangements for road conditions, drinking water and public toilets, while the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) and other departments had taken necessary measures to ensure facilities and safety for devotees.