In the midst of the coronavirus, there will be no 20-25 feet idols during the Ganeshotsav this year. The state had earlier said that the idols could be of 3 feet, however, the mandals have sought a limit of five feet in a meeting chaired by Thackeray with prominent city mandals, as per reports.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had earlier asked the Ganpati mandals in the city to keep the height of the idols small and celebrate the 10-day Ganesh festival, beginning August 22, in a low-key fashioned way. With the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis, there have been restrictions placed on the celebrations this year. With the heights of the idols being kept in mind, the pandals are also said to be smaller in size this year. Along with this, social distancing protocols are to be followed to help contain the spread of the coronavirus. Uddhav Thackeray further added that if the COVID-19 crisis is over by next year, then the festival can be celebrated on a much grander scale.
The CM further asked for opinions from the office-bearers regarding the height of the idols and immersion procession among others. Swapnil Parab, secretary of the Lalbaug Sarvjanik Utsav Mandal, said that the idols are likely to be immersed in artificial lakes this year. He stated that the query regarding the immersion of the idols have been raised. He said that the CM suggested that the heights of the idols be small so that they can be immersed in artificial lakes. Parab further added that Uddhav Thackeray is likely to announce a decision with regards to the height of the idols in the next few days. The CM, meanwhile, had inaugurated the 100th COVID-19 testing laboratory in the state in the Gokuldas Tejpal Hospital in Mumbai.
Maharashtra currently has 1,20,363 cases of the coronavirus with cases 62,875 in Mumbai only.
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