Kolhapur: 21-foot Ganesh idol falls after touching power line during immersion
A 21-foot Ganesh idol fell on the road in Kolhapur after touching a power line during Friday's immersion procession, sparking a blame game with Mahavitaran.
After twelve days of worship, Ganpati Bappa was being bid farewell across the state on Friday, September 25, 2026, but an unfortunate accident marred the immersion procession in Kolhapur. A roughly 21-foot Ganesh idol belonging to the Y. P. Powar Nagar Mandal suddenly fell onto the road at Gokhale College Chowk. The incident caused panic in the area for a while and left the mandal's workers dejected.
The accident occurred around 10.15 am on Friday at Gokhale College Chowk. The mandal's large Ganesh idol was being taken from Y. P. Powar Nagar for immersion on a tractor-trolley. The idol was standing on one leg and was in a slightly tilted position. As the procession reached Gokhale College Chowk, the idol came into contact with a power line along the way, and within moments everything went wrong. The idol lost balance and fell onto the road within seconds. The sudden incident caused panic among the workers and devotees present at the spot.
Police and the concerned authorities reached the spot as soon as they learnt of the incident. The crowd that had gathered in the area was brought under control. Mandal workers then used a crane to remove the fallen idol from the road. Following the incident, mandal workers raised questions about the arrangements along the immersion route. They claimed that they had already requested the concerned authorities to clear the power lines and overhanging tree branches obstructing the route the idol was to be taken on for immersion, but the accident occurred because the necessary work had not been completed.
Mahavitaran, on the other hand, has rejected the mandal's claim. Mahavitaran says it was not at fault in the incident and that the necessary work had already been completed. Its teams were also present in the area in view of the immersion procession. It has also been claimed that Mahavitaran's team helped at the required spots while the idol was being brought from Y. P. Powar Nagar to Gokhale College. With the mandal and Mahavitaran making conflicting claims over the incident, the question of who is actually responsible for the accident remains open. Meanwhile, the sudden fall of the 21-foot Ganesh idol dampened the enthusiasm of the immersion procession for a while and left devotees disappointed.
