Visuals of Lalbaug Cha Raja, one of the most-visited Ganesh Pandals in Mumbai, are widely being circulated online. These include photos of daily darshan of Lalbaug Cha Raja, devotees visiting the pandal, footages of celebrities walking through the darshan lane. There are also drone shots or videos captured from top of buildings showing how the entire street in the area is lit up to mark Ganesh Utsav with an impressive festival spirit.

Of the many videos going viral online, there are few which record bouncers pushing general devotees touching the foot of Bappa in an act of trying to manage the crowd and stagnation.

Not one single video, but a couple of them show female bouncers pushing people soon after their Charan Sparsh is done. They aren’t allowed to stay there for minutes and pray to Bappa and are rather asked to leave the premises allowing others too to take the darshan. While this could be considered to be fair for making way for others by keeping the queue flowing, it sparked an outrage on social media after people compared it to how VIPs were treated at the pandal.

As seen in the video, one of the feet of Bappa was being touched by general public and the other was allegedly being worshipped by VIPs who weren’t pushed to leave the premises immediately. Even seconds after their darshan of Bappa and Charan Sparsh being done, those touching the other foot of Lalbaug Cha Raja, believed to be VIPs, were seen standing next to his foot and clicking pictures together. Videos showed how VIPs stood there for a while within which 5-6 devotees were already been pushed to leave from the other queue.

Netizens react

These visuals from the Ganpati Pandal raised questions on VIP culture and VIP darshan there. “Won’t be surprised if Lalbaugcha Raja Pandal is declared as VIP only in future,” said netizens while reacting to the videos going viral online from Lalbaug Cha Raja’s darshan. “Assign a separate day for VIP darshan only VIPs allowed and all the remaining days keep it open for all devotees irrespective of anything!! Hoping anyone listens,” people added while trying to understand that these important personalities may receive special darshan but others should not face mistreatment.

Netizens offered due respect to Lalbaug Cha Raja and his talked-about miracles, but they highlighted allegedly how the organisers failed to equally treat very devotee visiting the pandal. “Not sure if Lord Ganesha himself approves the behaviour of Lalbaug Cha raja mandal! In front of God you can’t treat ppl so differently,” they wrote.

Celebs at Lalbaug Cha Raja 2024

This year, several celebrities have visited the pandal already along with lakhs and lakhs of general public queueing up to seek a glimpse of Bappa. From politicians to cine stars, some of the popular personalities who recently took darshan of Lalabug Cha Raja are Amit Shah and his wife Sonal Shah, Uddhav Thackeray, Rashmi Thackeray, Raj Thackeray, Deepak Kesarkar, Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra, Vicky Kaushal, Ayushmann Khurrana, Shriya Pilgaonka, Bhuvan Bam, and more.

Not a day goes by when the Mahayuti alliance (BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP) is not at loggerheads over one issue or the other, be it whose name should lead the Ladki Bahin scheme or how many seats each partner is staking its claim on. In this scenario, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) took a lead over the ruling alliance on Thursday by agreeing on the allocation of over 125 seats.

However, none of the MVA partners claimed five of the 36 Mumbai seats. These are Malabar Hill, Vile Parle, Charkop, Borivali, and Mulund, which are all represented by BJP MLAs.

Senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat said that discussions on the remaining seats will take place in the upcoming meetings. He stated that while two to three meetings have already taken place, the seat-sharing will be completed with everyone’s consensus after the Ganesh festival.

The first meeting regarding seat-sharing within the MVA took place on August 24 and focused largely on the seats in Mumbai. Both the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Congress party are keen on contesting more seats in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, due to the NCP (SP)’s strong strike rate in the Lok Sabha elections, the faction is pushing for some key seats across the state. A few BJP officials and leaders have already joined Sharad Pawar.

In the previous meeting, the Shiv Sena (UBT) had sought 18-20 out of 36 seats in Mumbai. They are particularly focused on the seats they won and those where multiple candidates were interested. The Congress asked for 14-16 seats, while Sharad Pawar’s faction sought five to seven seats.

Sanjay Raut recently said that a 99% consensus has been reached on the Mumbai seats. It is likely that the seats where a party has had long-standing MLAs will remain with that party. In places where MLAs have left the party, the seats are expected to go to the party with the strongest presence, according to sources.

Sources also said that former MP Imtiaz Jaleel has stated that AIMIM is keen to join the MVA. However, the opposition leader of the Legislative Council, Ambadas Danve, said that AIMIM is a disruptive force and no such proposal has been made to them by the party.

Thane: A gas leak occurred at a chemical company in the Morivli MIDC area of Ambernath, causing widespread panic among residents. The incident reportedly took place on Thursday night at Nikachem Products, where a large amount of smoke spread throughout the city. Many citizens reported difficulties due to the smoke, with symptoms such as burning eyes, throat irritation and difficulty in breathing.

The chemical leak affected the entire Ambernath city, leading to fear and anxiety among the residents. The gas leak and later spread of chemicals in the air persisted from around 9 pm to midnight. Upon learning of the incident, police, the MIDC fire brigade and officials from the air pollution control board rushed to the scene to assess and contain the situation.

MPCB Officials Didn’t Inspect Site, Allege Locals

The shocking revelation came to light when it was discovered that the regional officer of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) in Kalyan did not personally inspect the site but instead sent a driver. This has led to public outrage and demands for strict action against the MPCB official for negligence.

Nikachem Products, located on plot number 43 in the Morivli MIDC area, manufactures chemical products. The MIDC area houses numerous chemical factories that have frequently been reported for air and water pollution. Residents have long been calling for stricter measures to be taken against these companies, urging the MPCB to enforce regulations and prevent such incidents in the future.

Chemical Reaction Likely Led To Gas Leak

Officials from the fire brigade suggested that the gas leak might have been caused by a chemical reaction in oil drums stored at the company’s premises, likely due to the high temperatures. Investigations are underway to identify the exact nature of the gas that leaked. Fortunately, the situation is now under control, but the demand for accountability and stricter regulations remains strong among the local population.

Calls for action against negligent MPCB officers and chemical factories in the MIDC area are growing, as residents seek assurance that such hazardous incidents will not reoccur.