Pune: Devotees bid goodbye to Ganpati

The 10-day long celebrations reached their zenith on Thursday with thousands of devotees joining processions to immerse the idols of Lord Ganesha here.

The last phase of the festivity culminated into numerous processions across the city, which were accompanied by dancers and musicians, playing the traditional music on the occasion marked by immense enthusiasm and fervour.

Speaking to ANI, Sidheshwar Dhadbhuke, a local, said: "Everybody is excited as we all wait for this festival for a year. Every house in the city is engaged in the celebrations as the wave of happiness touches one and all. Drum and 'Tasha' players make the celebrations all the more amazing."

One of its own kind, the Ganpati Visarjan creates an atmosphere filled with extreme excitement as thousands join the procession to bid adieu to Lord Ganesha.

Talking about the preparation, a 'dhol' playing woman Suchitra Zogdekar said: "Although we are a bit sad that the lord is going back, we are happy that we prepared for the same with great rigor and now we have bonded so well with each other."

Everyone has been preparing for this for a month. So you can see the teamwork at a full swing where each one of us has contributed equally from getting the instruments to organising the whole event," she added.

In Pune, more than 7000 police personnel have been deployed to oversee the immersion of idols of Lord Ganesha.