Pune's longest Ganesh visarjan beats last year's record
Pune just pulled off its longest Ganesh Visarjan procession since Covid, starting Saturday morning and stretching a full 32 hours (according to police), with other reports citing up to 34 hours—beating last year's record.
The city was alive with music, dance, and color, but also had to navigate some crowd control headaches and behind-the-scenes disputes.
From Kasba to Dagdusheth Halwai
Kasba Ganpati kicked things off on Laxmi Road as the first of the five 'Manache Ganpati' idols led the way.
By Saturday evening all five were immersed, with Kesari Wada Ganpati wrapping up at 5:38pm.
The streets saw everything from Mallakhamb stunts to dhol-tasha beats and clouds of Gulal powder.
Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganesh made his final journey by 9:23pm.
Controversies during the visarjan
Managing such a massive crowd meant police rolled out surveillance cameras and even used Pune Metro trains to keep things moving.
A timing dispute between mandals was settled thanks to local leaders stepping in.
However, several journalists reported harassment by some dhol-tasha groups and police—prompting the journalists' union to ask Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for action.