Pune: The city police’s effort to secure an early conclusion of the Ganesh immersion procession this year was frustrated by an over six-hour hold-up as many mandals refused to proceed to the immersion point after the use of speaker sound systems was stopped at midnight until 6am on Sunday. It took 32 hours and 23 minutes for the procession to finally conclude at 8.15pm on Sunday when the last mandal, Amarjyot Mitra Mandal of Kasewadi, immersed its idol at the ghat opposite Congress Bhavan after passing Alka Talkies Chowk ghat at 6pm. The procession had started at 9.30am on Saturday from Mandai. Last year, the immersion procession took 28 hours and 45 minutes to complete, as per the timings recorded at Alka Talkies Chowk and in 2022, it took 29 hours to complete. Apart from the six-hour hold-up, several other factors like large numbers of dhol tasha troupes, crowding and blockades due to three to four mandals coming to Belbaug Chowk at the same time, and the halting of Ganapati mandals for over five hours on Tilak Road contributed to the delay, police said. Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar said on Sunday evening, “The procession passed off peacefully without any untoward incident. Our priority was to maintain law and order, peace and tranquility. Several factors contributed to the delayed conclusion of the procession despite an early start. Despite the Manache Ganapatis and Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati concluding their immersion early, the procession took time to complete.” Most prominent mandals completed their immersions earlier, but speaker system enthusiasts resumed only on Sunday morning. Some mandals managed to include more than three dhol tasha troupes in their parades despite police orders restricting the number of troupes to two of 60 members each. Some troupes had over 200 persons, and this consumed a lot of space, slowing down the procession movement. There were also verbal spats among mandal members, and they pushed each other over on Shivaji Road over the issue of queuing up. A police team reached the spot and resolved the issue.Asked about the large sizes of dhol tasha troupes, CP Kumar said, “There are mischief elements, and we cannot condemn all dhol tasha troupes for an act of high-handedness by a few. However, we feel that there is a need for SOPs and guidelines for the troupes.”Joint CP Ranjan Kumar Sharma said, “Despite ban on the use of plasma speakers, some mandals used them. We have recorded these instances and will strong action.”In other incidents, between 8pm and 9.45pm on Saturday, three Ganapati mandals and four dhol tasha troupes came face-to-face at Belbaug Chowk, causing a chaotic situation. Deputy commissioner of police (Zone I) Krushikesh Rawale intervened to resolve the situation. The Ganapati mandals, which were given schedules in the afternoon hours by the police, were stationary until 8pm. When the mandal members reported the matter to the police, showing their documents, a senior officer told them to find their own way but did not allow them to move. This led to further confusion among mandal members.A Ganapati mandal, which was given a time of 5pm on Saturday to resume its immersion procession, was stranded near Mandai until 11pm. The mandal then condemned the police action and did not perform the Ganapati aarti at the hands of any senior police officer, as is done regularly.The situation on Tilak Road was difficult, and the mandals faced challenges moving ahead due to crowding situation and many mandals heading towards LBS Road from Kumthekar Chowk via Alka Talkies Chowk.Parag Thakur of Maharashtra State Dhol Tasha Mahasangh said, “If something has gone wrong, we will correct it. We are the colours of this festival, and if someone indulges in mischief, we will give them a warning. Also, it is a matter of concern if people think that dhol tasha troupes are causing trouble. However, on Saturday and Sunday, all roads were crowded, and in this situation, something might have happened,” he said.
