As per Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s report, it has come to light that the civic body has received 3,255 applications for Ganpati mandals this year. Of the total, BMC has issued permissions to 1,947 applicants so far.
The BMC started clearing the approvals for mandals to erect pandals from July 4 with a one-window system, with a fee of INR 100, which was recently waived by the state government.
However, recently, the civic body has issued regulations for pandals ahead of the festivity.
Civic official stated that 71 per cent of the mandals have been granted permissions and the enthusiasm can be witnessed in the numbers, as 748 more applications have been received in comparison to last year. Some mandals have, however, already brought in their idols.
Last year, the civic body had received 2,507 applications, of which 2,048 were permitted.
Meanwhile, it is pertinent to note that this year the 11-day Ganeshotsav will be celebrated from August 31 without restrictions for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020 across Maharashtra.
A year prior, in 2020, only 1,700 mandals were allowed owing to the pandemic. With 370 applications still under process this year, the number is set to rise and almost touch the pre-pandemic (2019) figure of 3,723 applications, of which 2,489 were approved.
Share
Tweet
