After nearly 24 hours of procession, the immersion of Lalbaugcha Raja reaches its final stage, but minor hurdles in placing the idol on the raft cause a temporary delay. (Express photos by Akash Patil 07-09-2025)Maharashtra Ganpati Visarjan Live News Updates: The immersion of Lalbaugcha Raja was delayed on Sunday due to a high tide, causing an unexpected rise in water levels in the Arabian Sea. Generally, the idol is immersed at Girgaon Chowpatty in south Mumbai before 9 am after being shifted to a raft. Despite the delay, thousands of devotees gathered to bid farewell to Lalbaugcha Raja. The immersion procession of the idol began on Saturday and was brought to Girgaon Chowpatty early Sunday morning, coinciding with a strong high tide. The sudden surge of water caused the platform carrying the Lalbaugcha Raja idol to float, making it challenging to align it with the raft that would take it out to sea for immersion.
Immersion to be carried out once tide subsides: Despite over an hour and a half of efforts by local fishermen and volunteers to align the idol’s platform with the raft, strong waves posed great challenges. The Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal decided to wait for the water to recede after the high tide of 4.42 metres at around 11.40 am. The mandal would use a new, big-sized raft for the immersion this year, news agency PTI reported, citing sources.
One dead, five injured due to electrocution during Ganesh immersion procession in Sakinaka, Mumbai: A man died and five others were injured after they came in contact with a live wire during a Ganesh idol immersion procession in Mumbai on Sunday morning, said civic officials. The tragic incident took place on Khairani Road in Sakinaka area at around 10.45 am.
Along with tens of thousands of devotees, businessman Anant Ambani joined the procession of Lalbaugcha Raja. He has been a regular visitor to the Lalbaugcha Raja pandal for years now, and regularly walks to Siddhivinayak.
In the small, remote town of St. George, Utah, a spirited gathering of about 75 people — mostly strangers until that day — came together to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi, a festival deeply rooted in Indian tradition but now flourishing far from its homeland.
Arindam Sharma, a cardiologist, vividly recalls the event. “My wife and I have been living here for a few years, far from the familiar sounds of India. But this festival brought us all together.”
“A Maharashtrian family had set up Ganpati at home, then brought Him to a hotel conference hall. We performed the aarti, danced the Garba, and even had a small, improvised visarjan in a container of water. For a few hours, it felt like we were back in India,” he says.
For Sharma, and many like him, this humble celebration reflects a growing phenomenon: Ganesh Chaturthi has become a global affair.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak and community festival
Ganesh Chaturthi, as we know it today, owes much to Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, who in 1893 transformed it from a private, familial event into a public celebration that galvanised Indian society. Before that year, the festival used to be a one-day affair, observed mainly by Brahmin families. Tilak recognised the festival’s potential to unify diverse sections of society, particularly in Mumbai’s chawls, where people of various castes and communities lived in close quarters.
This year, Mumbai’s first Ganeshotsav, which was held at Keshavji Naik Chawl in 1893 turned 132. Mangesh Pokle (President) and Kumar Walekar (Secretary), members of the working committee organising the mega celebrations at the chawl, say, “At Tilak’s urging, his associates, Rao Bahadur Limaye and Narahari Shastri Godse, organised the festival here. Tilak’s idea was not just about devotion; it was about creating a platform for social gathering and political discourse under British rule. Now, the tradition that once sparked India’s independence movement continues to bind our community together, not just in Maharashtra, but across state and national borders.” Read more
At least four persons drowned and 13 were missing after the immersion of idols following the culmination of the Ganesh festival in various districts of Maharashtra, police said on Sunday.
In Pune district's Chakan area, four persons were swept away in different water bodies in three separate incidents, an official said.
Two men were swept away in the Bhama river at Waki Khurd and another one at Shell Pimpalgaon. Another person slipped into a well at Birwadi in Pune rural, he said.
Out of the four, bodies of two were recovered so far and search was on for the other two persons, the official said.
Three persons were swept away in a river at Gadegaon in Nanded district. One of them was later rescued and search was on for the other two persons, police said.
In Nashik, four persons met with a similar tragedy, and the body of one of them was recovered in Sinnar, they said.
In Jalgaon, three persons got swept away in separate incidents and efforts were on to trace them, the police said.
Three persons got swept away during the idol immersions in Thane district and the body of one of them was recovered so far, they said.
In another incident, a man was feared drowned during the immersion in Amravati, according to the police.
Amid the continuous rainfall in various parts of the state, rivers, lakes and other water bodies were swollen, due to which the state disaster response teams and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed, they said.
(PTI)
Emotions run high as the grand Lalbaugcha Raja procession reaches Girgaum Chowpatty for immersion. Devotees gather in large numbers, singing, chanting, and celebrating the beloved Ganesh idol one last time before the visarjan.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsVIDEO | Mumbai: Emotions run high as the grand Lalbaugcha Raja procession reaches Girgaum Chowpatty for immersion. Devotees gather in large numbers, singing, chanting, and celebrating the beloved Ganesh idol one last time before the visarjan.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 7, 2025
Executive Director, Reliance… pic.twitter.com/PVHUryBKkZ
The immersion of Lalbaugcha Raja, one of the most iconic idols of Lord Ganesh during the Ganpati festival in Mumbai, was delayed on Sunday after an unexpected rise in the Arabian Sea waters due to a high tide, sources said.
Generally, the Lalbaugcha Raja idol is immersed in the deep sea at Girgaon Chowpatty in south Mumbai before 9 am after shifting it on a raft, but this year, for the first time, the process was delayed due to the unexpected circumstances, they said.
Despite the delay, thousands of devotees, who came to bid farewell to Lalbaugcha Raja, continued to wait at the chowpatty.
The immersion procession of the idol started on Saturday and it was brought to Girgaon Chowpatty early Sunday morning, coinciding with a strong high tide.
The swift water surge caused a platform carrying the idol to start floating, making it difficult to align it properly with the raft meant to carry the idol into the deeper sea for immersion.
For about three hours, the idol was in a few feet deep waters, with 15 to 20 volunteers and fishermen trying to maintain its balance.
(PTI)
A man died and five other persons were injured after coming in contact with a live electric wire during a Ganesh idol immersion procession in Mumbai on Sunday morning, civic officials said.
The incident occurred on Khairani Road in Sakinaka area at around 10.45 am when a dangling electric wire accidentally touched the Ganpati idol, leading to six devotees near it getting electrocuted, the officials said as per the information received from local police.
Some locals rushed the injured persons to nearby private medical facilities and one of them was taken to the civic-run Seven Hills Hospital, an official said.
Doctors at the Seven Hills Hospital declared Binu Sukumaran Kumaran (36) "brought dead", the civic official said.
Five others -- Subhanshu Kamat (20), Tushar Gupta (20), Dharmaraj Gupta (49), Karan Kanojia (14) and Anush Gupta (6) -- were admitted to the Paramount Hospital and their condition was reported to be stable, the official said.
(PTI)
Amid heavy rainfall in Mumbai, data from Brihanmumbai Municipal (BMC) corporation showed that 2,198 Ganesh idols had been immersed until 3.00 pm on Anant Chaturdashi. Of these, 59 idols are from Sarvajanik pandals.
On Kumthekar Road, the pace was much relaxed as the mandals and the crowd took it’s time to wind up the procession. People were seen dancing with the Tasha Pathaks through the route of visarjan.
In a first all 5 Manache Ganapatis in Pune reached the Alka Chowk well before 6 pm on Saturday. The visarjan procession saw the Kasba Ganapati starting the procession at 9.30 am with Kesariwada, the fifth Manache Ganapati, reaching Alka Chowk at 5.30 pm.
Pune Police had conducted meetings with Ganapati Mandals and had urged them to ensure the procession does not spill over to the next day. All prominent mandals were asked to adhere to a time line with drones being used to monitor the procession. Heavy police bandobast makers the procession on Saturday with on duty olive officers urging mandals and people to move fast. The dhol Tasha Pathaks were also monitored to ensure no bottleneck happens at the prominent chowks.
Mandals who were given a time table also followed the same. This Kasba Ganapati the first of the five manache Ganapati started it’s procession at 9.30 am and reached the Alka Chowk by 2.30 pm. Shri Tambdi Kogeshwari and Guruji Talim were close on heel and reached Alka Chowk before 3.30 pm. Tulsibaugh Mandal and Kesariwada reached Alka chowk well before the time given to them. Kesariwada Ganpati reached by 5.20 pm, a first in many years.
The five manache Ganapatis were accompanied by dhol Tasha Pathaks who kept the route swaying with their music. The police personnels were extra vigilant in crowd control and were seen urging people to move forward at all prominent chowks.
Kesariwada Ganpati Mandal, the fifth manacha ganpati, reaches Alka Chowk. (Express Photograph/Arul Horizon)
Tambdi Jogeshwari, the second of the five Manache Ganapatis. (Express Photos/Arul Horizon)
Members of the Swarajya Trust accompanying the Kesariwada Ganapati has dressed up as Postal Employees for the procession.
Akhilesh More of the Trust said all of them have dressed up to remind people of the postal service which was loosing relevance.
The Kesariwada Ganapati is the fifth of the five manache Ganapatis and is on its way to reach Alka Talkies well before 5 pm. (Express Photo/Partha Sarathi Biswas)
Tulsibaugh and Kesariwada Mandal, the fourth and fifth Manache Ganapatis, are headed towards Alka Chowk.
The Kesariwada Mandal (Express Photo/Partha Sarathi Biswas)
Tambi Jogeshwari Mandal and Guruji Talim have both reached Alka Talkies before 3.30 pm in strict adherence to the timeline agreed upon. With the procession moving ahead - in an organised and disciplined manner - keeping to their individual timing, this-may well be the fastest Visarjan ever.
Shri Tambdi Jogeshwari Mandal, the second of the five Manache Ganapatis, reached the Alka Chowk before 3 pm. Guruji Talim, the third of the five Ganapatis, reached by 3.30 pm.
The Kasba Ganpati, the first of the five Manache Ganapatis, have reached the Alka Chowk at 2.30 pm. This year the Police has appealed to the mandala to ensure early visarjan and a time table has been drawn up accordingly. Kasba Ganapati is the first of the five prestigious mandals and starts the procession.
Lord Ganesh idol from the iconic Lalbaugcha Raja pandal being taken for the immersion.
#watch | Mumbai, Maharashtra: Lord Ganesh idol from the iconic Lalbaugcha Raja pandal being taken for the immersion. pic.twitter.com/kb9qYJgBLO
— ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2025
Immersion procession of Lalbaugcha Raja begins as thousands gather to bid an emotional farewell.
Devotees line the streets with chants, dance, and devotion as the majestic Lalbaugcha Raja embarks on his final journey, Ganesh Visarjan.
VIDEO | Mumbai: Immersion procession of Lalbaugcha Raja begins as thousands gather to bid an emotional farewell.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 6, 2025
Devotees line the streets with chants, dance, and devotion as the majestic Lalbaugcha Raja embarks on his final journey, Ganesh Visarjan.#lalbaugcharaja… pic.twitter.com/93XevLwZ6m
Drone visuals from Shroff Building show sea of people gathered to witness Ganesh Visarjan.
VIDEO | Mumbai: Drone visuals from Shroff Building show sea of people gathered to witness Ganesh visarjan. #ganeshvisarjan #anantchaturdashi2025Thousands of devotees gathered in Mumbai to say goodbye to the well-known Ganesh idol Lalbaugcha Raja. (Express photo by Deepak Joshi)
The 'visarjan procession' for the immersion of Nagpur Cha Raja begins in Nagpur, Maharashtra
#watch | The 'visarjan procession' for the immersion of Nagpur Cha Raja begins in Nagpur, Maharashtra#ganeshchaturthi2025 pic.twitter.com/F5wFOmMY2S
— ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2025
Beats of 'dhol-tasha' rang in the air as faithfuls thronged the streets of Mumbai on Saturday, braving the rains for immersion processions of Ganesh idols on Anant Chaturdashi, the last and final day of the 10-day Ganpati festival. Visuals of Ganesh Gali Ka Raja visarjan procession.
VIDEO | Beats of 'dhol-tasha' rang in the air as faithfuls thronged the streets of Mumbai on Saturday, braving the rains for immersion processions of Ganesh idols on Anant Chaturdashi, the last and final day of the 10-day Ganpati festival. Visuals of Ganesh Gali Ka Raja visarjan… pic.twitter.com/KsKB0shyaY
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 6, 2025
Visuals from Pune show large number of people gathered at Laxmi Road for Ganpati immersion.
Manacha pahala Ganpati, Kasba Ganpati during the procession at Laxmi Road. (Express photo by Arul Horizon)
Visuals from Shroff Building terrace show large number of people gather for Ganesh Visarjan.
VIDEO | Mumbai: Large crowd gathers for Ganesh Visarjan. Visuals from Shroff Building terrace.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 6, 2025
(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvqRQz) pic.twitter.com/nRrp3w4KEn
Immersion procession of 'Nagpur Ka Raja' Ganesh idol begins
VIDEO | Nagpur: Immersion procession of 'Nagpur Ka Raja' Ganesh idol begins.#ganeshvisarjan2025 #ganeshchaturthi2025
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 6, 2025
(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvqRQz) pic.twitter.com/BBRds1fHhb
As today (Saturday) marks the final day of the 10-day Ganpati festival, people across Maharashtra are gathering in large numbers to celebrate.
Roads are packed with people participating in the visarjan processions as beautifully decked idols of Lord Ganesh began their final journey.
