Ganesh Chaturthi 2023: Near-stampede scenario witnessed at Mumbai’s iconic Lalbaugcha Raja. Video surfaces

livemint.com:

Lalbaugcha Raja is one of the oldest and the most popular mandals in the metropolis attracting around one crore devotees including celebrities and politicians following which tight arrangements have been made. The history of the Lalbaugcha Raja is quite famous as it is the popular Ganesh idol of Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal, located at Putlabai Chawl, a place of worship founded in 1934. The Lalbaugcha Raja Ganapati idol has been taken care of by the Kambli family for over eight decades.

Lalbaughcha Raja offers two types of queue for the devotees, one is Mukh darshan while the other is Charan Sparsh line or Navas darshan line wherein devotees can go up to the stage and touch Lord Ganesha's feet. In Maharashtra, the festival is celebrated with much fanfare in Mumbai and other parts of the state with lakhs of devotees converging into mandals to seek blessing from Lord Ganesh. Other famous mandals in Mumbai is GSB Seva Mandal's Ganpati in Matunga, which is considered the richest and known for its grandeur.

The GSB Seva Mandal's 'Mahaganpati' is adorned in 66.5 kilograms of gold ornaments, more than 295 kgs of silver as well as other precious items. Other famous Ganesh mandals are in Chinchpokli, Ganesh Gully and Tejukaya. Apart from these, people also worship and seek belssing of the city's tallest Ganesha at 45 feet in the Khetwadi area of Girgaum.

Meanwhile, Ganesh Chaturthi also known as Vinayak Chaturthi, is a ten-day festival. The 10-day festival that starts on the fourth day of the Hindu lunisolar calendar month 'Bhadrapada', started on September 19 this year. (With inputs from agencies)