Pune, 8th September 2025: The city’s grand Ganesh Visarjan procession, known for its cultural and spiritual vibrancy, this year turned into an ordeal as it stretched for nearly 34 hours, creating an unwanted record for Pune.
Police had earlier assured that the immersion would conclude on time, with fixed schedules for leading mandals and restrictions on the number of dhol-tasha troupes. The five ‘Manacha Ganpati’ idols were immersed within schedule, but the situation quickly slipped out of control once the larger procession moved forward.
The immersion began at 9:30 am as planned, but key bottlenecks like Belbaug Chowk brought the flow to a halt. Heavy crowds, jostling mandals, and long stops for musical troupes caused repeated breakdowns in movement. By the evening of September 7, processions on Lakshmi Road had ended, yet hundreds of mandals on Tilak Road were still waiting for their turn, leaving the streets choked well into the night.
Crowd management proved ineffective. Metro connectivity and the end of suburban processions brought unprecedented numbers of visitors into the city centre. Police presence on the route was thin, and officers were often absent when fights broke out between mandal volunteers, dhol troupes, and spectators. Even at Tilak Chowk, scuffles unfolded in front of police without timely intervention.
Adding to the delays, large mandals were allowed extended stops and oversized troupes, while smaller groups were forced to move ahead quickly. This unequal treatment frustrated participants and slowed the procession further.
The absence of senior and experienced police officers was also evident. Unlike earlier years, moving patrol teams to push the procession forward were rarely seen. Without strict enforcement, long gaps between mandals persisted, making the entire route stagnate.
Instead of the well-organized, majestic conclusion that Pune’s Ganeshotsav is known for, the city ended up with a chaotic marathon procession that highlighted weak planning and poor execution.