President, Vice President greet people on the occasion
WEB DESK
The ten day long Ganesh Utsav begins today with great devotion. The festival marks the birth of Lord Ganesha, who is a symbol of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune. People place clay idols of Lord Ganesha in their home and worship them.
President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu have greeted the people on the occasion. In their messages, Mr Kovind and Mr Naidu said, the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi represent values and goals that we must imbibe to achieve national development and welfare for all sections of society. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also greeted the people on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. In a tweet, Mr Modi extended his greetings to all the countrymen for the holy festival.
Ganesh Chaturthi is a major attraction in Maharashtra, where people celebrate it with great zeal. On the first day of the festival, devotees are welcoming the idols of Lord Ganesha to their homes and at public pandals in various parts of the state.
Amid chanting of Ganpati Bappa Morya, people in Mumbai and rest of the state are giving a warm welcome to their favourite God, Lord Ganesha at their homes and public pandals. People from all age group are seen participating in the festivities adorning traditional attires. Chanting of hymns and prayers can be heard from different localities in the metropolis. The aroma of Modak, laddoo and delicacies specially offered to Lord Ganesha has filled the atmosphere. Keeping in mind the environmental concerns, devotees this year too have shown preference to eco-friendly idols of Lord Ganesha. With devotees thronging several famous Ganesh Pandals, police have kept a close vigil and have heightened security across the city, especially on the seacoast.
In Goa, families from across the country and abroad travel to the state to celebrate the festival with devotion and enthusiasm.The preparations for Ganesh festival in Goa had begun a month in advance. Today Ganesh idols are ceremonially installed in homes. Families have decorated Maatoli that is a wooden canopy before idol and it is adorned with flowers, seasonal vegetables and fruits. Programmes in Sarvajanik Ganesh festivals will continue for the next 11 days. Goa police has made elaborate security arrangements during Ganesh festival and immersion procession. Despite the intense monsoon spell on for last 2 days, the enthusiasm of Goans is not dampened and cheerful mood is spread across the state. Goa Govenor Dr Mridula Sinha and Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant has greeted Goans on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.
In Tamilnadu, the annual festival of the famous hill top Ganesh temple in Trichy, popularly known as the Malaikottai (Hill Fort), also begins today. The main attraction of the festival is various decorations that will be exhibited during the festival. These include the unique Dancing Ganesh and Teaching Ganesh decorations. A huge sweet preparation, weighing 150 kilograms, will be offered to the idol.