The immersion of Mumbai’s most loved Ganpati idol, Lalbaugcha Raja, turned into an unforgettable experience for devotees this year. What is usually a morning ritual stretched late into the evening, keeping thousands of people waiting at Girgaon Chowpatty. The delay was caused by rising tides and rough waters that made it nearly impossible to move the towering idol into the sea on time.
The idol, which is usually immersed before 9 am, was finally taken into the sea late in the evening on Sunday, more than 12 hours behind schedule.
After hours-long procession that started from Lalbaug on Saturday, the idol had already reached Girgaon Chowpatty over eight hours early. Despite reaching on time, several attempts were made to immerse the idol, but all attempts failed.
Why was the immersion delayed?
The main reason behind the idol’s immersion delay was the rising high tide.
According to the IMD, a 4.42-metre high tide was expected at 11:40 am on Sunday. Since high tide begins several hours before its peak, the water had already come up by the time Lalbaugcha Raja reached Girgaon Chowpatty in the morning. This made it unsafe to move the huge idol into the sea right away.
When water reached the Lalbaugcha idol’s waist…
At one point, the water level rose so high that it reached the idol’s waist, making the massive platform float and drift away. This created difficulty in aligning with the raft that was meant to carry the idol further into the sea.
For almost three hours, a determined group of volunteers and local fishermen stood in the water, trying to keep the idol safe and steady.
Then around 4:45 pm, the idol was carefully shifted onto the raft. The moment it was on raft, the beach erupted with chants of “Ganpati Bappa Morya” and “Lalbaugcha Rajacha Vijay Aso.” The sound of thousands of voices echoing together marked the successful end of a long and challenging immersion.