Daijiworld Media Network – Mumbai

Mumbai, Sep 20: Two people, including an eight-year-old girl, were killed and several others injured after an electrocution incident near a Ganapati pandal in Mumbai’s Lalbaug area early Sunday.

The incident occurred around 2.20 am near the Kalachowki Vibhag Sarvajanik Ustav Mandal on Dattaram Lad Marg in Kalachowki, as large crowds gathered in the area amid the ongoing Ganapati festival.

The incident resulted in the deaths of two people, one of them an eight-year-old girl. Several others sustained injuries. Further details about the circumstances leading to the electrocution and the identities of those affected were not immediately available.

The incident comes as Mumbai witnesses large-scale participation in the 12-day Ganapati festival, which began on September 14 and will conclude on Anant Chaturdashi on September 25.

According to a PTI report, 21,104 idols of Lord Ganesh and Goddess Hartalika (Parvati) had been immersed in various water bodies across Mumbai till 9 pm on Saturday, the sixth day of the festival.

Civic officials said no untoward incident had been reported during the immersion activities until that time.

The total included 18,308 household Ganesh idols and 2,734 idols of Goddess Gauri. In addition, 62 idols belonging to Sarvajanik Ganesh mandals, or community groups, had been immersed.
According to different traditions, Ganesh idols are immersed on the first-and-a-half day, third, fifth, sixth and seventh days of the festival, as well as on Anant Chaturdashi, the concluding day.

On the fifth day of the festival, which began on Friday and continued until 6 am on Saturday, a total of 37,843 idols were immersed. These included 35,843 household Ganesh idols, 1,030 community Ganesh idols and 129 idols of Goddess Hartalika.