Thane civic body orders immersion ghats ready by September 13

With Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations set to begin next Monday, the Thane Municipal Corporation has stepped up preparations for the immersion of Ganesh idols. Mayor Sharmila Pimploalkar personally inspected the ongoing work at immersion sites to ensure devotees face no difficulties and all necessary facilities are ready on time. She directed the civic administration to complete all work at immersion ghats by Sunday, September 13.

During the inspection, officials present included Wagle prabhag samiti chairperson Ekta Bhoir, Majiwada Manpada prabhag samiti chairperson Siddharth Owalekar, corporators Sanjay Wale, Vikas Repale and Prashant Songra, deputy city engineer Mohan Kalal, executive engineer Rushikesh Jawalkar, health officer Dr Rani Shinde and chief environment officer Vidya Sawant, along with officials from various departments.

Mayor Sharmila Pimploalkar visited the Datta ghat at Masunda lake, the artificial lake at Railadevi and the immersion ghats at Gaimukh on Tuesday. On Friday, she had also inspected the immersion ghats at Kopri, Kolshet and Parsik. On that occasion, Kopri prabhag samiti chairperson Meenal Sankhe, Kalwa prabhag samiti chairperson Vijaya Lase, Majiwada Manpada prabhag samiti's Siddharth Owalekar, and corporators Anita Gauri, Sanjay Bhoir and Usha Bhoir were present. She took stock of the work underway at the ghats, facilities being provided for devotees, security arrangements, traffic planning and cleanliness from the concerned officials.

Ganesh idol immersions take place over several days, from one-and-a-half-day Ganpati to Anant Chaturdashi, leading to a steady crowd of devotees at the immersion ghats. Keeping this in mind, the mayor asked the civic body to immediately provide the necessary facilities around the ghats. Directions have also been given to install barricading at the corporation's lakes, make separate arrangements for aarti at the immersion ghats, put up weather sheds in view of possible rain, and provide mobile toilets for devotees.

Besides the immersion ghats, the Thane Municipal Corporation has also set up Ganesh idol collection centres at various locations. The corporation has appealed to devotees to use these centres and cooperate in celebrating Ganeshotsav in an environmentally friendly manner. Large crowds gather at the immersion ghats on Anant Chaturdashi, and in view of this, the mayor has appealed to public Ganeshotsav mandals to take out their immersion processions as early as possible, and for mandals and devotees to strictly follow the instructions issued from time to time by the corporation, the police department and the traffic department, so that the immersion work is completed on time and without any hindrance.