The IT must have been a great relief for the Mumbai Police, the state government, the civic officials, and security agencies, now that the Ganesh Chaturthi festival of 11 days, has ended peacefully. Hats off to all those who took great pains to ensure the important festival concluded without any untoward incident.
The police and the security staff had to be on special alert when lakhs of people participated in several mandals across the city. Despite the volatile situation in the country today, Mumbaikars did not get discouraged. They turned out in large numbers to celebrate their festival. Thanks are also due to several organisations, volunteers, and life guards of the beaches who extended their services to the citizens. Whatever some activists may say or the statistics may prove to be, this year even the noise pollution was limited. At least in Dombivli and other places, I never witnessed any music being played loudly by the sarvajanik mandals, by the installation of speakers on the roads etc.
The tempo and the mood of the festivity were the same even in cities like Pune, Ahmedabad, etc. Overall, it was a great show of solidarity by the people and flawless organisation and execution by the people in charge of security. Now, with this festival over, will the corporation ensure that the city roads are now duly repaired and asphalted to avoid the emergence of potholes again? And yes…with the help of public-spirited activists and students, the beaches must be cleared of the “left overs” and made clean.
Above all, let the policemen also enjoy paid leave for a couple of days – they truly deserve this, as they will again be busy with security arrangement for the Navratri, Durga Puja, Dussehra festivals to follow soon.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
