The Lalbaugcha Raja Ganapati idol hit the main road around 12.45 pm and headed towards Bharatmata junction. Pics/Atul Kamble, Nimesh Dave, Sameer Abedi and Anurag Ahire
No untoward incident was reported anywhere during the immersion, said officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)
Of the idols immersed in the sea, lakes and artificial ponds in the city by 6 pm, 7,227 were household Ganapatis, 300 belonged to 'sarvajanik mandals' (community groups) and about 50 were of Goddess Gauri
The immersion procession of 'Lalbaugcha Raja', a famous 'sarvajanik' (public) Ganesh in central Mumbai who draws lakhs of devotees during the festival, reached Chinchpokli around 6.30 pm while on its way to Girgaum chowpatty or beach
BEST, the civic bus service, has diverted buses on several routes on account of immersion processions
Western Railway and Central Railway would be running special late night trains for the convenience of devotees returning home after immersion processions, officials said
More than 24,000 police personnel have been deployed on the streets for security and crowd management
Thousands of household and 'sarvajanik' (public) Ganesh idols will be immersed at 204 artificial ponds across the city, along with 69 natural water bodies like Girgaon, Dadar, Juhu, Marve and Aksa beaches
The BMC has deployed more than 12,000 employees and set up 71 control rooms to manage the processions
It has also posted 761 lifeguards and deployed 48 speed boats at the beaches as a safety measure, and citizens have been advised to avoid entering deep waters
Police are also using drones for surveillance at key immersion sites such as the beaches at Girgaon, Dadar, Bandra, Juhu Versova and Madh Island, and also at Powai lake. They would also be monitoring the footage of 8,000 CCTV cameras
The State Reserve Police Force, Quick Response Teams, Riot Control Police, Home Guards and Maharashtra Security Force have also been roped in, officials said
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