Over 1,100 Ganesh idols immersed in Belagavi after 30-hour-long procession

The Ganesh idol immersion procession ended smoothly in Belagavi on Sunday. The procession that began on Saturday evening, lasted over 30 hours.

The city has around 400 registered Ganesh Mandals. However, the total number of idols installed in the city and surrounding areas was more than 1,100, officers said.

The district administration had made heavy security arrangements. A team, including two officers of the cadre of Inspector-Generals of Police, one Deputy Inspector-General of Police, six Superintendents of Police, and over 4,000 personnel were on duty.

The police had laid out the routes for the procession of idols in eight directions and enforced traffic diversions on those routes.

Apart from traditional bandobast measures, the police used drones and aggregated CCTV feeds from cameras around the city to monitor the situation.

The Ganesh festival in Belagavi this year was unique as sound pollution was significantly less.

The police had strictly enforced the Supreme Court order on the use of disco jockey (DJ) music systems. The incidental positive benefit of this move is that hundreds of local folk artists and musical and dance teams were given employment.

Police Commissioner Borase Bhushan Gulabaro had held a series of meetings with Ganesh Mandal leaders and convinced them of the need to drop the use of DJ systems.

He showed them a map of the processions that had over 65 hospitals along the way. He encouraged them to engage folk artists and singers and dancers from the city and surrounding villages in the installation and immersion processions.

This was strictly enforced by including it in the list of conditions that needed to be adhered to by the Ganesh Mandals to get police permission.

The formation of a team of volunteers that worked with officers and the mandate that Ganesh Mandals should install idols in open places without curtains, so that Darshan can be obtained from afar, helped reduce congestion and chances of stampede.

Revellers raised slogans like Ganesh Bappa Morya, Pudacha Varshi Lokaria, Jai Shri Ram, Jai Bhavani-Jai Shivaji and others. Troupes of artists performed Dhol Tasha, Jhanj Pathak, Dollu Mela, Kolata, Dhwaja Pathak, Bhajana Mela and traditional songs and dances.

Some artists wore traditional costumes of Shiva Gana and Shivaji’s soldiers.

A huge semi-circular stage was put up at Dharmaveer Sambhaji Circle for the general public to look at the idols being taken out in the procession.

District in-charge Minister Satish Jarkiholi, MLAs Abhay Patil, Asif Seth, Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Roshan, Mr. Borase and others were present.