Ganesh mandals and lakhs of households in the financial capital are set to celebrate the ten-day Ganesh festival starting Saturday. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has granted permission to 2,635 mandals out of 3,358 applications received for public celebrations, with around 300 more applications still awaiting approval as of Friday, according to a BMC official.
Many mandals brought in their Ganpati idols with grand processions in the last two-three days. The idols will be installed in homes and pandals with rituals on Saturday. Throughout the day, Crawford Market, Lohar Chawl, and Dadar vegetable markets were packed with people shopping for flowers, sweets, puja materials, and decorations. Bright, colorful lights have already illuminated streets and bylanes in Lalbaug, Parel, Girgaon, Andheri, Chembur, Fort, and other areas known for housing famous Ganapati mandals.
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Lakhs of devotees flock to popular pandals like 'Lalbaugcha Raja' during the ten-day festival. Other notable mandals in the area include Chinchpokli, Ganesh Gully, and Tejukaya. The GSB Seva Mandal in Matunga, known for its Lord Ganesha adorned with gold jewellery, is considered one of the wealthiest mandals.
Some 15,000 police personnel will be on the streets for the next ten days to provide security, officials said.