Thane Mayor Sharmila Pimpolkar has directed the municipal administration to complete all work at the city’s Ganesh visarjan ghats by September 13, ahead of the upcoming Ganesh festival.
The directive was issued during an inspection of immersion facilities at Dutta Ghat near Masunda Lake, the artificial lake at Rayladevi and the immersion ghat at Gaimukh, according to a report by Loksatta – Thane. The mayor also inspected immersion ghats at Kopri, Kolshet and Parsik on an earlier visit.
The inspections covered ongoing work, facilities for devotees, safety arrangements, traffic planning and sanitation. Pimpolkar instructed officials to prioritise the completion of artificial immersion ponds, electrical systems and closed-circuit television cameras at the sites.
The municipality has also been directed to install barricades around its lakes and provide separate arrangements for devotees to perform aarti at immersion locations. Other measures include weather sheds in view of possible rain, mobile toilets, loudspeaker systems, information and instruction boards, nirmalya collection bins, drinking water and cleaning facilities.
The preparations are being expedited because immersion will take place on different days during the festival, beginning with the immersion of one-and-a-half-day idols and continuing through Anant Chaturdashi. The staggered schedule is expected to result in sustained movement of devotees at the ghats rather than a single period of activity.
Pimpolkar also asked the administration to make immersion tanks available in large housing complexes across Thane. Such facilities would allow residents of housing societies to immerse idols within their premises, according to the report, reducing the need for every household to travel to a public ghat.
The mayor directed the relevant municipal departments to ensure that essential facilities are made available without delay and that safe conditions are created for devotees during the immersion period. The September 13 deadline applies to the completion of the ghat-related works identified during the inspections.
