Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
The Municipal Corporation has stepped up preparations for Ganesh idol immersion on Saturday, September 6. To ease the rush and ensure safe immersions, it has set up 46 idol collection and donation centers, 17 immersion wells, and zone-wise artificial ponds.
Nearly 200 Ganesh mandals and thousands of household idols have added to this year’s festive fervor. With civic elections around the corner, several aspirants have also pitched in, giving the festival a political edge. The immersion day will see grand dhol-tasha processions, where leaders are expected to showcase their strength.
To avoid crowding, the civic body will deploy vehicles at all collection points. Devotees can donate idols, which will be handed back to sculptors, while immersion-bound idols will be taken separately for ceremonial immersion. At N-7 Rajiv Gandhi ground, three artificial ponds 4 ft deep, 6 ft wide, and 40 ft long have already been readied, and similar setups will come up across other zones. Idols immersed here will later be shifted to Devlai quarry.
Immersion sites: ZP ground, N-12, Satara well, Shivajinagar, Sangharsh Nagar, Mukundwadi, Padegaon, Harsul pond, Shahanur Miyan Dargah pond, Devlai immersion pond, Chikalthana, Deshmukhnagar, and others. Municipal Administrator G. Sreekanth has directed engineers to avoid large artificial ponds and instead build multiple smaller ones for safe, hassle-free immersion.