Pune’s Ganpati visarjan procession continued more than 30 hours after it began, with immersion processions still moving through Laxmi Road, Kumthekar Road and Tilak Road, according to a report by Loksatta Online. The prolonged movement has kept several central Pune routes active through the day and into the following morning.
The procession included music systems, drum-and-tasha groups and large crowds of devotees. Multiple mandals continued towards immersion points, while the main routes used by the city’s public celebrations remained occupied by processions and spectators.
At around 4 am, the Bhau Saheb Rangari Ganpati mandal’s procession moved from Tilak Chowk. It was followed by the chariot of the Akhil Mandai Mandal, the report said. Both mandals were among the prominent processions still moving after the celebrations had continued overnight.
The Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati mandal had decided, as it did last year, to join the immersion procession early. Its Ganpati idol left Tilak Chowk for immersion at around 8.30 pm the previous night, according to the report.
Processions arriving through Kelkar and Kumthekar roads used laser shows and DJ systems. The report said large numbers of young people gathered along both roads between around 10 pm and midnight. In contrast, mandals arriving through Laxmi Road appeared to give greater prominence to traditional dhol-tasha groups.
The procession also continued through Tilak Chowk as mandals from the adjoining routes arrived. The idol of Subhash Mitra Mandal reached the chowk through Kelkar Road, followed by the Saturday Veer Maruti Mandal. By then, it was midnight.
Police instructed organisers to switch off DJ speakers after midnight. The direction came as the procession continued through the central-city routes and the sound systems remained a prominent part of activity on Kelkar and Kumthekar roads.
The extended procession underlined the operational demands placed on Pune’s central streets during Ganpati visarjan. Routes such as Laxmi Road, Kumthekar Road, Kelkar Road and Tilak Road serve as important links through the core city, but also become concentrated public spaces during the annual immersion movement. In this case, the continued arrival of mandals meant that crowd movement, sound regulation and route management remained active well beyond the initial start of the procession.
According to the report, processions were still underway after 30 hours, with mandals continuing towards immersion and police enforcing the midnight restriction on DJ speakers. The Bhau Saheb Rangari and Akhil Mandai mandals were among the latest prominent processions mentioned in the update.
