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Amidst the commencement of the ten-day-long festivities of Ganesh Chaturthi, devotees were observed reverently transporting idols of Lord Ganesha aboard a local train at Mumbai's Dadar railway station.
Visuals showed people chanting in chorus 'Ganpati Bappa Morya'. "My family has been celebrating this festival for 48 years. Here, at the Dadar Railway Station, they sell different kinds of idols of Lord Ganesha. That is why we come here to buy them. People from different areas come here and purchase the idols," said a local, Gaurav Chouhan while speaking to ANI. Another local, Ganesh Patil, also expressed excitement for the 10-day-long festival. Speaking to ANI, he said, "I have been coming here at the Dadar Railway Station for 35 years. Today, I came here with my son to buy the idols of Lord Ganesha." "We all are very excited and happy. We celebrate this festival with huge excitement," the devotee added. Meanwhile, on Tuesday morning, a huge gathering of devotees thronged Shri Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai to attend Aarti at the two-centuries-old shrine dedicated to Lord Ganesha. Even as a festive cheer was palpable in Maharashtra and elsewhere in the country, people were busy decorating their homes with flowers and rangolis and bringing idols of Lord Ganesha into their homes. Markets and streets bustled with people trying to make last-minute purchases for the festival. Shopowners made robust sales of decorative materials, lights, lamps, crockery and clothes while vendors sold flower garlands, fruits, sweets and 'Matoli' items such as betel nuts, local citrus fruits, coconuts and incense. Exquisitely carved Ganesh idols by artisans and students were awaiting arrival at pandals. Ganesh Chaturthi festival is celebrated every year with great fervour, with thousands of devotees thronging temples and pandals for darshan of the Lord Ganesha. The 10-day festival ends with elaborate immersion processions on Anant Chaturdashi. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde took to 'X' and extended greetings to the people of the state on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. In Chhattisgarh's Raipur, a Pandal bearing a close resemblance to India's successful lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3 aircraft, is to be on public display. A theme-based pandal depicting the Chandrayaan-3 mission has been erected at Kali Bari in West Bengal's Kolkata. The replica of the PSLV rocket at the pandal stands at a height of 120 feet and a width of 70 feet. Another Ganesh pandal themed on Ayodhya's Ram Temple has been put together in Maharashtras Pune by the Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Sarvajanik Ganpati Trust. The organisers said they worked on the pandal for the past two months and the installation of the idol of Lord Ganesha in it will be presided over by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, said an official of the organising committee. Also, at Mumbai's famous Pandal, known as 'Lalbaugcha Raja', an aarti was performed amid a huge gathering. In Tamil Nadu's Dindigul, devotees gathered at Vinaynagar temple to get a glimpse of 'Bappa'. In Maharashtra's Nagpur, an aarti was performed at Shree Ganesh Mandir Tekdi. (ANI)
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