The sanskari nagri of India bid adieu to its Lord Ganesh with triumph and fervour. The celebration took place in whole of Vadodara with grand jamboree visible in most of the nooks and corners of city. It is also a believed fact that Vadodara is ranked third after Pune and Mumbai in terms of Ganesh Chaturthi.
Since time immemorial it is the coveted visarjan spot of city, that is, Sursagar Lake which is in the process of beautification therefore ganesh pandals were advised to cooperate with the Corporation for smooth running of procession to ponds which were near to their ganpati establishment. Righteously, VMC had also constructed four artificial ponds in the city for immersion, Navlakhi Ground having the largest with depth of 15ft. Approximately, there were around 5000 Ganesh Sthapanas in the city.
The cultural diversity of India was portrayed with practicality when Muhoram and Ganesh Chaturthi fell on the same occasion. Both the religious sects supported and respected each other’s festivals with camaraderie with togetherness triumphing harmony.
Due to heavy number of festival devotees in the city, security and safety was tackled victoriously by newly posted commissioner, Anupam Singh Gehlot along with his team. The old walled city of Vadodara is notoriously known to have gripped communal upheaval but this year with stringent arrangements of level three security, festivity was its joyous peace. Super cop bikes were deployed at every narrow lane of the city which were perceived to have possible tension. Also, the dark areas of city were equipped and arranged with inflated lights. There were a total of 10 control rooms temporary made with instalments of 400 cctv cameras for surveillance in the old city. Police personnel of 10,000 was also its best for security from home guards to Rapid Action Force and SRP. There was also strict prohibition on the type of songs played on music systems. This comes after, when Pratap Madhka’s ganpati mandal was inflicted with communal conflict and slurs last year, resulting in serious clash of the races.
Vadodara is on its road to eco friendliness by manoeuvring its way to a greener planet. Most of the idols in the city were made with sustainability for pollution free immersion. Some were made with raw bananas while some were with paper and fullers earth. Anand Vidya Vihar School was exceptional for its creativity as their idol was completely carved from a tree bark. Adding to that, some of the idols were also made with alum for the purpose of lakes’ purification.
Throwing light on cooperation of citizens with vision for sustainability, quite a number of people took to their backyards to immerse their idols in an artificially made tanks and even pots.
The Sanskari Nagri is on the right tract of spreading environmental and communal diversity awareness.
