Ganesh Utsav / Idol immersion processions not allowed for Ganeshotsav 2020: Maha govt

Ganesh Utsav 2020: The Maharashtra government on Saturday made it mandatory for all ‘mandals’ to take prior permission from the concerned municipality or local authority for Ganeshotsav celebrations. The government has also capped the maximum idol height at 4 feet. The home department has issued detailed guidelines for the organisers keeping in mind the coronavirus pandemic situation in the state.

The government has directed that even the idols installed at home can not be taller than two feet. It also advised Ganesh Mandals to postpone immersion of idols. The ten-day Ganesh Chaturthi festival, during which `Sarvajanik Mandals’ install idols in roadside pandals will begin from August 22.

The mandals have been asked to consider immersion of idols during the Maghi Ganesh Chaturthi which falls in February or during the next year’s Ganesh Chaturthi festival. The state government has also urged people to use metal or marble Ganesh idols at home. If clay idols are installed, they should be immersed at home or in nearby artificial ponds.

The government has said that processions to mark arrival and immersion of idols will not be allowed as it attracts crowed. It also said that there should be no crowds during daily `aarti’ and noise pollution norms must be followed.

This confirms that the state government will allow the celebrations albeit with restrictions. Earlier, it was feared that the government may not allow the festival considering the rising virus infections in the state. Maharashtra is the worst-hit state with over 2.38 lakh cases and 9,893 deaths. Mumbai tops the list with over 90,460 cases followed by Thane which has 57,138 Covid cases. On Friday, the state recorded its highest single-day spike of 7,862 coronavirus cases.