Raja Ganeshotsav Mandal, which organizes Mumbai’s Lalbaugcha, has decided not to hold Ganeshotsav this time in the wake of coronavirus pandemic. The mandal has decided to set up a blood and plasma donation camp in its place.
The Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesh festival, one of the most famous and Mumbai’s biggest pandal in Ganeshotsav, will not be celebrated this year in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
This year, there will be no Lalbaugcha Raja or an idol immersion, Mumbai’s Lalbaugcha Raja Ganeshotsav Mandal said on Wednesday.
The mandal said instead of celebrating Ganeshotsav in a grand way, it will donate the amount to the CM Relief Fund and hold a blood and plasma donation camp in the area where the festival is celebrated.
“Lalbaug Raja is our deity and there is no doubt about it, but the Raja himself wants his people to be healthy. Therefore, there will be no idol and immersion this year,” a mandal official said.
The mandal said it will celebrate this year as Arogya Utsav, as part of which several healthcare programmes will be held. The mandal said the Ganpati festival period will be celebrated as health festival to give priority to plasma therapy to save the lives of more patients, and help the families of police personnel who died while fighting the coronavirus battle.
A blood and plasma donation camp will be set up for 10 days, the official added.
“Instead of celebrating Ganeshotsav in a grand way, Labaughcha Raja Mandal will donate the amount to CM’s Relief Fund. We will also felicitate families of martyrs who have lost their lives at LoC and LAC,” said Sudhir Salvi, secretary of Lalbaugcha Raja Ganeshotsav Mandal.
Earlier, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray had asked all mandals for no community celebrations this year.
ALSO READ: 18,522 fresh cases take India’s COVID-19 tally to over 5.6 lakh
