Front seats for tourists during immersion

The foreigners who have decided to stay in Mumbai during the Ganesh festival, will be treated to the real taste of the grand occasion. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), in association with the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), has decided to make special arrangements for them to get a proper feel of Ganesh Chaturthi in the coastal city.

While MTDC will guide the foreign tourists during the festival, BMC will provide a special sitting arrangement at two immersion sites— Girgaum and Juhu Chowpatty. Every year, a large number of foreign visitors come to Mumbai to see the Ganpati festival. Various tourist agencies help them hopping across the pandals. However, this is the first time that BMC and MTDC have come together to promote the festival among the overseas visitors. 

Anand Wagaralkar, deputy municipal commissioner of Zone 2 and officer in-charge for Ganpati festival said, “The MTDC will take care of the foreigners who come to Mumbai especially to celebrate the festival.”

Prakash Gaikwad, the assistant commissioner of K-west ward, said, “We have made a separate sitting arrangement for the foreign tourists at Juhu Chowpatty. The tourists can easily catch a glimpse of the Ganpati during the immersion.” He said MTDC employees, along with BMC staff, will inform the visitors about the importance of the festival. Wagaralkar said All potholes in the route where the Ganpati will be taken for immersions have been filled. “There will no potholes on the roads along with the Ganpati will be taken for immersion,” Wagaralkar said.