The 11-day celebrations of Ganeshotsav ended on Anant Chaturdashi. On the occasion of Ganeshotsav, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) organised a Ganesh Visarjan recently at Girgaum Chowpatty. MTDC associated with BMC to develop a separate pavilion for foreign travellers to witness the Ganesh procession at Girgaum Chowpatty. On this occasion, Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister, Maharashtra, Jaykumar Rawal, Minister of Tourism and Madan Yerawar, State Tourism Minister, Government of Maharashtra, Vijay Waghmare, Managing Director, MTDC and Aashutosh Rathod, Joint Managing Director, MTDC were present.
MTDC with Department of Tourism promoted “Maha Ganesh Festival 2017” and honoured the birth of the adorable Hindu elephant-headed God, Lord Ganesha which is widely worshiped. Mumbai has 10,000 Ganesh mandals and 50,000 Ganesh mandals worldwide. It is one of the major festivals in the world and Mumbai is the heartland of this festival. Tourists from different parts of the world such as USA, Europe, Thailand and Japan were present to witness the gala celebration. In an hours’ time, the pavilion lodged an approximate 200 tourists per batch.
The Oberoi Trident, The Taj Hotels Mumbai, ITC Maratha and Four Seasons Hotel were a part of the grand immersion ceremony. The Consulate General of different countries were also present to witness this occasion. The highlight of the event was a group of 55 tourists from Thailand who have been worshipping a Ganesh idol in Trident, taking part in the festivities at Girgaum Chowpatty.
Rawal said, “It is a privilege to organise the visarjan ceremony and offer a dais to exhibit the best of Maharashtra’s rich culture and tradition. The separate pavilion has been setup for foreign tourists to enjoy the procession as we March together to bid farewell to our beloved deity. The pavilion will comprise facilities like Wi-Fi connection, mobile toilets and clean drinking water. Tourists can observe the immersion of the Ganapati idols from all over the city on the 11th day and can avail the Wi-Fi connection to share their experience and converse about the celebration. This will also portray how the celebration of this festival transformed over the years.”
