Ganesh mandals beef up insurance

Lalbaugcha Raja has been insured with an insurance cover of Rs 51 cr while GSB Seva Mandal has taken a whopping Rs 223 cr cover

Ganpati mandals in Mumbai have ensured that no untoward incident dampens the spirit of the 10-day festivities that begin from Monday. In an attempt to welcome the elephant god to a safe environment, the mandal committees have strenthened their insurance covers. Take the most popular Ganesh mandal, Lalbaugcha Raja, situated in Lalbaug area of Mumbai, has been insured with a cover of Rs 51 crore, up from Rs 45 crore taken last year.

The policy, taken from New India Assurance, includes Rs 3.5 crore cover for the pandal, settings and electricals, Rs 10 crore for third party risks (prasad or edible offerings) as precaution against food poisoning, accident cover of Rs 30 crore covering both volunteers and devotees and Rs 7.5 crore cover to protect the idol's jewellery.

Ashok Pawar, president, Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal, said that people would be provided compensation of up to Rs 5 lakh in case of any accident. Being one of the largest mandals, Pawar said they have taken an additional Rs 20 crore cover from United India Insurance for immersion activities of all Ganesh mandals in Mumbai. "All mandals may not have adequate funds for taking an insurance cover. Hence, we have taken a cover on all their behalf. This will cover drowning, stampede and terrorism-related risks of all Ganesh Mandals in the city for all the days of immersion," he said.

Lalbaugcha Raja Mandal had taken this cover last year, too, for the benefit of the other mandals. The size of the cover was Rs 15 crore. This mandal has the highest footfall among all mandals here, with an estimated 100,000 people visiting it each day.

The policy covers perils such as fire, theft, stampede, accident and terrorist attacks.

GSB Seva Mandal in King's Circle area, one of the richest Ganpati deities in Mumbai, has taken a whopping Rs 223 crore cover from a nationalised general insurer. It is called the Gold Ganpati Mandal thanks to the fact that the deity is bedecked with about 60 kg of gold. This mandal's committee has taken umpteen measures to protect both the deity and the devotees.

Satish Nayak, spokesperson of the GSB Seva Mandal King's Circle Ganeshotsav, said the mandal has taken Rs 20 crore all-risk cover (basic over, fire and allied perils, burglary, theft accidental external damage and terrorism cover) and Rs 1 crore cover for fire and special perils. Further, there is a Rs 20 crore cover for public liability, and Rs 182 crore personal accident cover, at Rs 10 lakh per head. Last year, too, the mandal had taken a similar cover of Rs 224 crore.

Other mandals are also taking insurance covers. Andhericha Raja, situated in Andheri area is taking a cover of Rs 3.7 crore from National Insurance Company. Of this, Rs 1.75 crore will go towards terrorism risk, Rs 75 lakh towards ornaments and pandal sets. The mandal has also set aside Rs 1 crore for Ganesh immersion, which will cover the immersion proceedings, which take up to 21 hours for them.

A senior official from a state-owned general insurance company said the number of Ganesh mandals taking insurance has seen a 20-30 per cent rise. "While the sum assured may not be very high, mandals usually have an average cover of Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore. The all-risks cover plus personal-accident package is the most popular one, since it covers all major perils," the official added.

However, there are several mandals that do not take insurance, either because they are smaller in size and face a scarcity of funds or because they believe it might be considered a commercial activity. Khetwadicha Raja, a mandal based in South Mumbai does not take any insurance cover, and this year, too, has decided not to take a cover.

The Ganeshotsav, which will begin from Ganesh Chaturthi on the next Monday will continue for the next 10 days till Anantha Chaturdashi on September 19.