Ganesh Visarjan 2025: High Tide Delays Immersion Of Lalbaugcha Raja's Idol In Mumbai

Mumbai: The immersion of Lalbaugcha Raja, Mumbai's most famous Ganesh idol, was delayed on Sunday despite a 23-hour-long procession that began on Saturday. The idol, which reached Girgaon Chowpatty at 7.45 am on Sunday, is still awaiting immersion due to rising tides in the Arabian Sea and technical difficulties with a newly introduced motorised raft.

Official sources said that generally, the Lalbaugcha Raja idol is immersed before 9 am after shifting it on a raft, but this year, for the first time, the process was delayed due to the unexpected circumstances.

This year, the Lalbaugcha Raja Mandal introduced a specifically designed automatic raft brought from Gujarat. Equipped with 360-degree rotation and decorative water jets, the raft was expected to speed up the immersion process. Unlike the traditional system of using two boats, this raft was designed to carry the idol into the sea.

However, strong waves during high tide have made the raft unstable, complicating the process of hoisting the idol onto it. Sources said that for the last one and a half hours, teams of fishermen and lifeguards have been attempting to shift the idol from its trolley to the raft. But the attempts have failed as the trolley itself is stuck and not moving.

The mandal also tried removing some of the idol's ornaments to ease the lifting process, but that too was unsuccessful. Currently, the idol remains on the beach, and the pre-immersion aarti has not been performed yet. With low tide still about three hours away, the mandal is thinking of using the old traditional raft to avoid further delays. Officials have appealed to devtees to remain patient until the immersion process resumes safely.

Since early morning, thousands of devotees gathered at the Chowpatty to witness the final farewell of Lalbaugcha Raja. Civic and police authorities were present at the site and closely monitoring the situation.

Meanwhile, the Chintamani Ganapati of Chinchpokli was successfully immersed earlier at Girgaon Chowpatty. Its raft was towed into the dea using boats, and the immersion was carried out without major issues.

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