Ganesh Chaturthi Updates: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval Visits Maha CM's Residence for Darshan; Festivities at Hubballi’s Idgah Ground Over, Muslim Body to File Contempt Plea

Ganesh Chaturthi Updates: Celebrations for Ganesh Chaturthi have been in full swing across states in the country since the festival commenced on Wednesday.

The ten-day festival is being celebrated with a bang after a two-year long hiatus due to Covid-19 restrictions. The first round of visarjan, where many devotees immerse their idols in water after one and a half day, was completed on Friday.

While Maharashtra has always seen grand festivities, the rest of the states have also been ramping up celebrations. All eyes were on Karnataka on Wednesday over two controversies, in Hubballi and Bengaluru, around Ganesh pandals being installed in the Idgah grounds. The celebrations ended in Hubballi on Friday and the idol was taken for immersion.

Here are the latest updates on Ganesh Chaturthi from across states:

• National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday. He visited the CM’s official residence in Mumbai and offered prayers to Lord Ganesh.

• A hospital in Jabalpur adorned their idol of Lord Ganesh with a firefighter uniform to spread awareness regarding fire safety after 8 people lost their lives in fire-related accident in the hospital on August 1.

• MNS chief Raj Thackeray and his family visited Shri Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai to offer prayers to Lord Ganesha on Saturday.

• In Karnataka’s Hubballi, the Ganesh idol installed at the Idgah Maidan was taken for immersion yesterday. The procession took nearly five hours to cover just one kilometre from the Idgah Maidan in Deshpande Nagar to the immersion point at Sadashiv Nagar, reports the Indian Express.

During the 3-day festivities, the organisers violated the Hubballi-Dharwad municipal corporation’s ban on flex boards at the Idgah ground. Altaf Nawaz, vice-president of Anjuman-e-Islam, said the Muslim organisation would file a contempt case in the Karnataka High Court against the Hubballi-Dharwad municipal corporation commissioner. “We will be moving the high court seeking directions to disallow religious activities of other communities at the Idgah ground,” he told the Indian Express on Friday.

• The Bombay High Court on Friday permitted a Thane-based trust to install their Ganesh Chaturthi pandal with modified decorations based on the theme of the recent split in the Shiv Sena. The pandal featured decorations on the split which were accompanied by audio and video clips narrating details.

On August 25, the pandal was served with a notice under section 149 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) containing directions to be followed for the decorations, failing which appropriate action will be initiated, as per PTI. The next day, the deputy commissioner of the Kalyan police inspected the decorations, suggested the petitioner to make changes to the decoration and modify the audio clip, which was done. Despite this an FIR was lodged and the decorations were removed, the trust said in a plea.

A special holiday bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Madhav Jamdar heard the petition and granted permission to the trust.

• Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday directed officials to ensure that ‘puja pandals’ for Ganesh Chaturthi and upcoming Navratri festivals do not cause inconvenience to people or hamper traffic movement in the state.

• Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the residence of Narayan Rane for Ganesh Chaturthi.

•  7-year-old boy from Rabodi in Thane drowned on Friday night in an artificial lake made for Ganpati idol immersions, an official said.

• Belagavi city is seeing Ganeshotsav celebrations after a two-year hiatus. Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the festivities which are expected to attract large crowds from Maharashtra and Goa, reports the Free Press Journal.

• The Delhi Police on Friday urged city residents to follow guidelines issued by Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to ensure pollution-free celebrations. This year, you are liable to a fine of Rs 50,000 or can even go to jail for up to six years if you immerse an idol in the Yamuna or any water body in the national capital.

• As part of an initiative by the Maharashtra Tourism Ministry, a group of 10 envoys in Mumbai were taken on a tour of the festival on Friday. The diplomats visited the Lalbaugcha Raja, GSB Seva Mandal’s pandal and other famous pandals in the city.

(With PTI inputs)

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