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Cash offerings reach Rs 1 cr on fifth day of Ganesha festival

     Mumbai: On the fifth day of the ten-day Ganesha Chaturthi festival, the organisers of a community Puja pandal in Mumbai confirmed that they have already received donations of over Rs 1cr. Members of the organising committee of the famed 'Lalbaug Ka Raja' who have erected 23-feet Lord Ganpati idol in Mumbai said that this year the devotees have been more generous to their beloved lord. "We have just done a rough counting of the donations, it is not yet finalised. Till now we have received donations over one million rupees and the counting is still on," said Dilip Joshi, a member of Lalbaug Ka Raja community Puja Pandal Committee. The members said they usually begin counting after the end of the festival, but this time they have taken the decision to begin the process early to save the currency notes from getting spoiled. "To save the currency notes from getting damaged when it gets mingled with flowers and sweet donations, we began the counting on second day itself," Joshi added. At the end of the 10-day long festival, the idol of Lord Ganesha would be taken in grand processions and immersed in water bodies. Ganesha Chaturthi, the most important festival in Maharashtra, is also celebrated with religious fervour in other states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
-Aug 28, 2009