- The immersion of Lalbaughcha Raja Ganesh idol was delayed by nearly 13 hours due to high tide, technical snags
- Fishermen claimed they were sidelined and excluded from the immersion process this year
- VIP culture and political presence at Lalbaughcha Raja have sparked ongoing debate among devotees
The immersion of Mumbai's iconic and oldest Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesh idol at Girgaon Chowpatty witnessed a delay of nearly 13 hours this year, owing to high tide and technical snags, breaking its usual traditions and leaving some devotees angry.
Traditionally, the 18-foot-tall idol's procession begins on Anant Chaturdashi - the final day of the Ganesh festival and idols' 'visarjans', but is immersed the next morning around 9 am. This time, too, the immersion was planned around the same time. However, organisers said there was a high tide in the morning, which made it impossible for them to conduct the immersion, and could only take place when the high tide eased - around 10:30 pm. This was also the 'sutak period' - a spiritually significant and inauspicious time during the lunar eclipse - which created discomfort among the devotees.
Another tradition that was broken this year was the high-technological platform used for the immersion of the Lalbaugcha Raja.
Every year, Lalbaugcha Raja was immersed from a floating platform made from the boats of the 'Koli' (fishermen) community. This platform witnessed some technical snags, causing a delay in the immersion, leaving the idol stranded at the Girgaon Chowpatty for a few hours.
This angered the fishermen community, with them saying that they were "sidelined".
"Lalbaugcha Raja belongs to everyone and not just one person. No one can rule over Ganpati Bappa (Lord Ganesh). In 1934, when fishermen and labourers did not have money and were facing problems in the market for selling fish, the fishermen had made a vow to Ganpati Bappa that if their market problem was solved, they would establish a public Ganpati every year. Lalbaugcha Raja was established due to that vow. But year after year, fishermen started being deprived of the 'darshan'," members of the fishermen community told NDTV.
They claimed that while they were granted a whole day earlier to attend the Lalbaugcha Raja festivities, the time was gradually reduced to a few hours and then none.
"Earlier, on the day of immersion in the sea, we used to get the privilege of having the last 'darshan' of Lord Ganesh from our boat and participating in the immersion, but this year we were deprived of that too. This year, the immersion was planned to be done on contract in an automated manner, and not with the help of fishermen. But the sea waves and technical faults exposed the truth of their system. Lord Ganesh himself stopped the immersion for 13 hours and allowed us to offer prayers," they said.
According to them, the organisers of Lalbaugcha Raja treated devotees "unfairly" and gave "VIPs the priority".
"We just want to say that our rights should not be taken away. Our only demand is that a representative of the fishermen should be included in the organisation so that the descendants of the ancestors who established Lalbaugcha Raja can also put forward their point directly," they said.
Sanjay Raut on Lalbaugcha Raja
Thousands of devotees join the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations at Lalbaugcha Raja every year, causing a massive crowd.
However, year after year, a debate on the existence of VIP culture at the religious place has stirred, owing to the attendance of politicians and celebrities and their high security.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut claimed that he has never visited Lalbaugcha Raja as he does not want to add "one more person to the crowd".
"I have never been to Lalbaug Ganpati till now. What is seen there is different. I don't go because I don't want to add one more person to the crowd. There are home and public Ganpatis. At present, Amit Shah visits Lalbaug Ganpati. If any Marathi person visits Ganpati, I will definitely go," he said.
Cases of theft at Lalbaugcha Raja
At least 50 mobile phones were stolen during the immersion procession of Lalbaugcha Raja. Seven cases of gold chain theft were also reported, officials said.
The police have arrested 15 people in the cases. Out of these, 10 cases have been registered, including four cases of mobile theft, and three people have been arrested. Police have recovered four mobiles from the arrested accused, said officials.
Seven cases have been registered in cases of gold chain theft. Out of these, a total of 12 accused have been arrested in six cases.
