With the overwhelming response from tourists that the Ganeshotsav festivities attracts, this year Maharashtra Tourism Department has organized multiple programs commencing from August 31, 2022 till September 9, 2022 (Ananta Chaturthi). The aim is to promote festival to national and international tourists by showcasing the festivities in all its glory – its importance, traditions, rituals, local delicacies prepared during the festival and give an overall perspective of Maharashtrian culture to tourists. A press conference was conducted at the Directorate of Tourism (DoT) office headed by the Director, Milind Borikar and Joint Director Dr Dhananjay Sawalkar, today, on Friday, 2nd September, 2022. Chandrashekhar Jaiswal, DGM, MTDC was also present at this gathering.
Guided Tours for Devotees
Maharashtra Tourism department has facilitated guided tours for devotees around Mumbai and Pune regions. The devotees in Mumbai and Pune are being taken to visit iconic Ganesh pandals from 31st to 7th September, 2022.
In Mumbai, tourists/devotees are being taken to Fort cha Raja in Fort, Keshavji Naik chawl Ganapati in Girgaon, Lalbaughcha Raja in Lalbaug, Mumbaicha Raja of Ganesh Gully in Lalbaug and GSB Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samiti, Wadala.
Similarly, the group in Pune are being taken to the following Navsache pandals/temples: Kasba Ganpati in Kasba Peth, Kesari Wada Ganpati of Kesari Wada in Narayan Peth, Tambdi Jogeshwari Ganpati in Budhwar Peth, Tulsi Baug Ganpati in Budhwar Peth, Guruji Talim Ganpati in Budhwar Peth, Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati in Budhwar Peth and Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari Ganapati in Budhwar Peth.
The tour in Mumbai will be conducted at a cost of INR 850/- for Indians and INR 1600/- for Foreigners (per person) from 9am to 2pm, whereas, the tour in Pune is priced at INR 350/- and INR 550/- for Indians and Foreigners, respectively from 9 am to 12 pm. So far, 65 have registered for Mumbai and 55 for Pune.
Milind Borikar, Director, DoT, “I’d like to take this opportunity to reach out to maximum people and appeal them to take an experience of visiting the Ganpati pandals of Mumbai and Pune. We have facilitated certified tour guides to give them the best possible experience by sharing all the information about the pandals.”
To register for Mumbai, visit https://in.bookmyshow.com/activities/mumbai-ganapati-pandal-hopping-tours/ET00338043
To register for Pune, visit https://in.bookmyshow.com/activities/pune-ganapati-pandal-hopping-tours/ET00338071
Free Pandal Hopping Guided Tours For Senior Citizens:
Maharashtra Tourism department along with the municipal corporations of Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Nagpur organized guided tours for senior citizens aged 60 and above, to visit various Ganesh Pandals in Maharashtra. The tour began yesterday and will continue on 2nd, 5th and 7th September, 2022. Under this initiative, tourists are being taken to various famous Ganesh Pandals in Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Nagpur.
In Mumbai, tours will begin from three different pickup points: Andheri, Kurla and Chembur. The mandals included are Mumbai cha Peshwa (Vileparle), Kherwadicha Raja(Bandra), Siddihivinayak Temple (Prabhadevi), Ganesh Galli (Lalbaug), GSB Ganapati (Wadala), Sahayadri Mitra Mandal Ganapati at Tilak Nagar and Chembur cha Raja (Sindhi Colony).
In Thane, tourists will be exploring the Ganesh Pandals of Shiv Samarth Mitra Mandal, Sarvajanik Utsav Mandal, Jan Jagruti Mitra Mandal, Suryoday Mitra Mandal, Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav and Panshil Sarvajanik Mandal. While in Pune, tourists will be visiting the famous pandals of Tulsi baug Ganpati, Guruji Talim Ganpati, Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati, Thamdi Jogeshwari Ganpati, Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari Ganpati, Shree Kasba Ganpati and Kesari Wada Ganpati
In Nagpur, the tourists will be taken to Tekdi Ganpati, Adasa Ganesh Mandir, Ashtadashbhuj Ganesh Mandir, Ramtek and Reshambaug Ganpati.
Below are the Timings of the Tours:
- Mumbai: 9.00 am to 1.00 pm
- Thane: 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
- Pune: 8:30 am to 12:30 pm
- Nagpur: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
A total number of 1600 senior citizens have registered for the tour at 4 cities.
Hon. Tourism Minister, Mangal Prabhat Lodha said, “We have co-ordinated with traffic, police, other government departments for smooth operations of all our tours especially the one for senior citizens. This is the first time that we have arranged a tour for senior citizens during ganeshotsav. I am glad that they are enjoying this experience as we have been receiving tremendous appreciation from them.”
Supriya Karmarkar, Deputy Director of Pune region DoT informed, “We are overwhelmed with the response we received for senior citizens tour and are running in full capacity for all the days. Henceforth we won’t be accepting any online registrations.”
Senior citizens can apply online as well as offline for other three tours by registering themselves on https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfaLY_L8NJc7Xw86zyUuCX3_5-fir7Zen-H71yjF4C8V23P7w/viewform?usp=pp_url
FAM tour for National Media, Influencers and Travel Agents
A FAM tour of the most popular Ganesh pandals and Ganesh visarjan in Mumbai and Pune for national media, influencers and tour operators have been organized on 8th and 9th September, 2022. Total 32 participants are for Mumbai and 30 participants are for Pune.
Milind Borikar, Director, DoT informed, “The participants from our neighboring states like Gujarat, UP, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Bengaluru, Tamil Nadu, UT Delhi etc., to visit popular Ganesh pandals in Mumbai and Pune. This initiative aims at spreading about the high spirited festival to tourists from all over India. We will also take them around to witness the rich history of both the cities.”
Social Media Activities
In Celebrity Ganpati Campaign, celebrities like Jackie Shroff, Abhijeet Khandkekar, Abhijeet Sawant, Megha Dhade, Jay Dhudane, Karan Wahi, and many more have collaborated with Maharashtra tourism to spread the message of welcoming eco-friendly ganpati at home during this festival, by showcasing their eco-friendly ganpati idols. They are sharing and spreading the message of celebrating the festival without causing any harm to the environment. Hashtag used for this social media campaign is #GoEcoWithBappa
Our social media handles will be covering all the aspects of Ganeshotsav from dhol tasha to aagman to visarjan. We will also be taking our viewers through the popular ganesh pandals in Mumbai and Pune.
Dr Dhananjay Sawalkar, Joint Director, DoT informed, “We have over 1.8 million followers on our social media handles- Instagram, fb, twitter and YouTube. We aim at spreading about our culture, festival and tradition all around the globe along with giving a message of being friendly with nature and not creating any harm to her. We are using our social media handles for the same.”
Idol Immersion (Visarjan) Experience for Foreign Tourists and Celebrities
Witness the emotions of devotees when they bid adieu to the Lord as He takes along their pain and sorrows and, they pray to Him to return early the next year thereby bringing joy in their lives. The visarjan takes place at Girgaon where Mumbaikars in thousands come together.
The tourism department has erected an air-conditioned pavilion for foreign tourists who would be getting a close glimpse of the immersion (visarjan) ceremony at Girgaon Chowpaty. This event is scheduled from 6pm onwards. Foreigners will also be made familiar with Maharashtrian culture as they would be welcomed by wrapping a pheta around their head. With the viewing deck, the tourists will be mesmerized with the immersion experience. Additionally, we are approaching nearby 4 & 5 star hotels asking them to support our initiative so that similar experience can be provided to foreigners living there. So far, 65 tourists from Thailand have registered for this experience.
Tour for Consulate General
MTDC is facilitating the visit of iconic pandals in Mumbai to Consulate Generals of different countries. GSB, Ganesh gully, Lalabaugcha Raja and Keshavji Naik ganpati pandals are being visited. Similar tour on 7th September for other set of countries will be conducted. On 7th, GSB won’t be included.
LIFESTYLES OF MUMBAI 