The police have thrown a security blanket over the city as lakhs of devotees are expected to throng immersion ghats to bid adieu to Lord Ganesh on Tuesday.
Ganesh Visarjan marks the end of the 10-day Ganesh festival and the 125th anniversary of the festivities organised by the Pune Municipal Corporation. Nearly 4,500 Ganesha pandals have registered this year, marking a nearly eight-fold increase in the number since 2014.
About 8,000 police personnel and hundreds of trained volunteers will be part of the security detail, which will be overseen by Commissioner of Police Rashmi Shukla and Joint Commissioner of Police Ravindra Kadam.
Bomb detection and disposable squads along with riot control vehicles and quick response teams will be stationed at various points in the city. Around 1,000 closed-circuit television cameras will keep vigil over the proceedings.
State health authorities said the Maharashtra Emergency Medical Services will deploy 80 ambulances backed by teams of doctors and volunteers to meet medical exigencies on immersion day in Pune and Mumbai.
Grand procession
Pune’s five Manache Ganpatis will be queued up in a stately procession in order of their immersion. The Kasba Ganpati, which was established in 1893, will be followed by the ornate Tambadi Jogeshwari Ganpati and the Guruji Talim Ganpati, and the smaller pandals will be in tow.
Performances by dhol tashas and lezim troupes will turn the cityscape into a tableau of culture and musical harmony. Vital roads in the city’s Peth area (old Pune), where the five Ganesh pandals are situated, will be shut from noon. Roads in the city’s Deccan area will remain closed to traffic from 4 p.m.
Riverbanks under the Lakdi Bridge and the Natraj immersion ghat in Deccan Gymkhana will be cordoned off to prevent drowning accidents.
