It is Ganesh chaturthi today. The festival has started off from Sunday itself. More than 20000 people have already had the darshan of the lord here at Khairatabad. Large number of crowds are expected today here on Monday. Hyderabad is brimming with the activity of puja to lord Ganesha. The Ganesh temples are also busy with people worshiping the lord .
The Hyderabad city has turned colorful with flowers sale, leaves sale and Ganesh idols sale. The sweet shops are also busy with customers. It is shopping time all over the city. More than 10000 Ganesh idols are being installed and puja is in the air .
Even in Mumabi the city’s focus turned to the many pandals where last-minute arrangements for the Ganesh festival were being made. Sweets and flowers were ordered, lights and sound systems checked and finishing touches were being applied.
This year, as ever, organisers have come up with imaginative settings for the idol. The iconic Lalbaugcha Raja will be riding an owl, traditionally known to be Goddess Lakshmi’s vehicle, while Khetwadi’s Ganapati is seated in a pandal designed to represent Rome.
Over 1,000 Ganesh mandals have been given permission to conduct the festival by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), while an equal number of applications are pending with the civic body. According to one estimate, there are about one lakh private Ganapati celebrations this year.
Many pandals have taken multi-crore insurance cover. Among those which have insured their pandals, the GSB Seva Mandal at King’s Circle has purchased insurance worth Rs. 300 crore, while Lalbaugcha Raja has insured its pandal for Rs. 51 crore; all immersion processions have been insured for Rs. 15 crore. Khetwadicha Ganraj has set up a control room to ensure live feed to news channels and devotees across the city.
The festival will continue for 1o days followed by a shobha yatra for the nimajjan process of Ganesha.
