424 Ganesh idols immersed in Karjat taluka on Anant Chaturdashi

A total of 424 Ganesh idols were immersed amid devotion at various ghats in Karjat taluka on Anant Chaturdashi. The idols, installed on September 14, were bid farewell on Friday. Of the 9,590 idols installed across the taluka, 424 had been kept by devotees at homes and mandals until Anant Chaturdashi. Most of these idols were immersed in flowing water.

The immersion ceremonies passed off peacefully across the jurisdictions of the Karjat, Neral and Matheran police stations. Preparations for immersion had been made at six Ganesh ghats within the Karjat municipal council limits. Besides Dahiwali, Shri Prati Pandharpur, Mudra, Mahavir Peth and Shani Mandir, arrangements were also made by the municipal council at Gundage and Bhisegaon. The Karjat municipal council, Neral gram panchayat and Dahiwali Tarfe Varedi gram panchayat had put up large pandals for the immersion ceremonies.

The Dahiwali Tarfe Varedi gram panchayat had made arrangements for devotees at the Ganesh ghat near Dahiwali bridge on the Ulhas river along the Neral-Kalamb road. A large number of devotees turned up there to bid farewell to their idols. Former sabhapati Amar Misal, direct sarpanch Misal and other gram panchayat members showered flower petals on the idols. Since the river water was muddy, devotees were not allowed to enter it, so the immersion was carried out by the gram panchayat and local workers themselves.

The taluka's largest immersion event, with a 30-year tradition, continued at the Neral Ganesh ghat till midnight. The idol of the "Raja" of East Neral was immersed last. The event was conducted under the guidance of zilla parishad member Sunita More, Karjat panchayat samiti member Bhagwan Chanche, administrator Sujit Dhangar and gram panchayat officer Arun Karle. Representatives of all political parties and social organisations were present to shower flowers on the idols.

Police officer Rahul Varote personally stood on the Kalyan-Karjat road to ensure there was no traffic congestion and devotees faced no inconvenience. No devotee was allowed to enter the water at the British-era dam in Neral, so the gram panchayat deployed two boats, with whose help the idols were immersed in deep water.

During the immersion, the administration, police, gram panchayat and workers of the Shivshambho Yuva Hikers Karjat organisation assisted devotees and ensured safety. The organisation's workers, Vikas Chitte, Tushar Divekar, Shailesh Satpute, Mahendra Karve, Sumit Gurav, Gaurav Chitte, Neha Satpute and Ishant Malusare, helped the administration with ropes and other equipment.