In view of Ganeshotsav and the pandemic, idols of Lord Ganesha can now be home delivered in Navi Mumbai eight days in advance.
The first day of the 10-day Ganpati festival is on August 22 and the citizens have already started taking the sculptures home a week in advance in order to not crowd the shops a day before.
Meanwhile, with the Maharashtra government calling for low-key Ganpati celebrations this year in view of the coronavirus outbreak, livelihood of people associated with the festivities, which generate a turnover of more than ₹70 crores every year in Mumbai, has been adversely affected. There are some 12,000 Sarvajanik Ganesh mandals in the city.
On the other hand, ST buses have been made available for reservation for employees going to Konkan from August 13 to August 21 as per the instructions of the government. However, ST has set some conditions for this with regards to the pandemic.
It will be mandatory for the concerned passengers to undergo RV-PCR swab test before the journey. If the test is negative, then the concerned person can travel. For this, buses have been made available at major bus stands in Mumbai, Thane and Palghar divisions.
Each year, thousands of people who are residents of Konkan visit their villages and towns in Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of Konkan region for the festival. They either take the Mumbai-Goa highway (National Highway-66) or travel via the Mumbai-Pune expressway or Kolhapur-Bengaluru highway (to travel from Pune to Kolhapur).
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