19 dead in Maharashtra during immersion of Ganesh idols

MUMBAI: At least 20 persons died, 14 of them due to drowning, in various incidents that occurred during the immersion of Ganesh idols in parts of Maharashtra, police said on Saturday.

The 10-day Ganesh festival, which had started on August 31, ended on Friday.

In Wardha district three persons drowned at Sawangi, while another one drowned at Devli, an official said. Two persons drowned in a pond in Yavatmal district when they went for immersion of idols, he said.

In Ahmednagar district, two persons died of drowning in separate incidents at Supa and Belvandi, he said, adding that two others died in Jalgaon district of north Maharashtra.

One each died in Pune's rural part, Dhule, Satara and Solapur city, he said.

Four persons died in a road accident at Sakkardara area of Nagpur city during Ganesh immersion, he said.

In Thane, a 55-year-old woman was killed and four others injured after a tree collapsed on a Ganesh pandal in Kolbad area amid rains. The incident occurred on Friday night, a civic official said. ''A huge tree fell on the pandal while the aarti of the Lord Ganesh was going on as part of the immersion of the idol. The woman, Rajashri Walavalkar, was seriously injured in the mishap. All of them were rushed to a hospital, where she was declared brought dead,'' the official said.

Meanwhile, at least 11 persons, including a nine-year-old girl, were injured after suffering an electric shock at Panvel in Raigad district during a procession. The incident took place on Friday evening at Wadghar Koliwada after a cable of an electric generator snapped, an official said.

''At least 11 persons who were part of the procession came into contact with the cable and sustained injuries. The injured include four children, he said.

While some of them were rushed to a private hospital, others were taken to a state-run hospital in Panvel, he said adding all are responding well to the treatment. Some law and order related incidents were also reported in parts of the state during the immersion of idols. A scuffle broke out between the supporters of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray at Tophkhana in Ahmednagar district, an official said.

In Jalgaon, a group of people hurled stones at the mayor's bungalow during the Ganesh immersion procession, he said, while minor incidents of scuffle between groups were reported in Pune city and rural part of the district as well as Chandrapur.