Mumbai sets up 383-plus artificial ponds for Anant Chaturdashi immersions

Mumbai’s final Ganesh immersion day will be supported by more than 25,000 BMC officials and employees, with 67 natural sites and over 383 artificial ponds available across 278 locations.

The civic body has placed 1,132 steel plates, 23 German rafts, 34 cranes, 85 ambulances and 10 motorboats at immersion sites. Its crowd-management plan includes 1,132 lifeguards, 228 control rooms, 75 observation towers and more than 6,000 floodlights and searchlights.

At Swarajya Bhoomi, or Girgaon Chowpatty, the BMC has set up 12 artificial ponds, 20 observation towers, 22 rafts, 90 toilets and a primary health centre. Three ambulances will be stationed there, alongside an emergency coordination room involving civic, police, fire, health and disaster-response agencies.

The BMC said it had repaired 4,279 potholes on 506 procession-route roads, along with 171 drainage covers. It reiterated that idols up to six feet must be immersed in artificial ponds, as previously notified by the civic body. Residents entering the sea have also been asked to follow safety instructions due to blue-button jellyfish and stingrays along the coast.