Why Lalbaugcha Raja Ganpati Visarjan Was Delayed by Over 12 Hours

The visarjan of Lalbaugcha Raja, one of Mumbai’s most famous Ganpati idols, was delayed by more than 12 hours on Sunday. Normally, the idol is immersed in the Arabian Sea by 9 AM the day after Anant Chaturdashi. But this year, it reached Girgaon Chowpatty only around 9 PM, leaving devotees curious about the cause of the delay.

Reasons Behind the Delay

The immersion was postponed because of both high tides and technical issues. Officials explained that it was not possible to carry out the immersion earlier due to a technical problem. Sudhir Salavi, honorary secretary of the Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal, said, “When our procession reached Chowpatty, the high tide had already started. The procession, with the 18-feet-tall idol, started from Lalbaug around 12 PM on Saturday and arrived at the beach by approximately 8 AM on Sunday. However, the water level was already high, making it unsafe to perform the immersion. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecast a 4.42-metre tide at 11:40 AM, with high tides generally beginning about six hours beforehand.

Challenges During the Immersion

Volunteers had to transfer the idol from the trolley onto the raft that would take it into the water. The waist-deep water made the task extremely challenging, even with assistance from volunteers of other mandals. Typically, a mechanised raft is used, but this year the Mandal opted for an electrically powered raft. The idol was eventually placed on the raft at 4:45 PM, more than eight hours after reaching the beach. Volunteers also struggled with the rough sea while trying to balance the idol. Ensuring the idol stayed steady was challenging because of the strong waves. ”We couldn’t move until it was safe to go further into the sea,” one volunteer said.

Final Visarjan

The idol was ultimately placed in the sea at about 9 PM, as devotees loudly chanted, “Pudhchya varshi lavkar yaa” (See you next year soon). Despite the long wait and challenges, devotees were happy to see the Lalbaugcha Raja safely enter the sea, keeping the tradition alive.