Mumbai: The immersion procession of Mumbai’s most beloved deity, Lalbaugcha Raja, began on the morning of September 6 at 10:30 am. After nearly 22 hours, the idol finally reached Girgaum Chowpatty around 8 am the next day. However, due to the early arrival of a high tide in the Arabian Sea and technical difficulties in placing the idol on a specially imported state-of-the-art floating raft from Gujarat, the immersion was delayed for the first time in the history of Lalbaugcha Raja. Many devotees gathered at Girgaum Chaupathy to take blessings and darshan of Lalbaugcha Raja.

On Wednesday night, another major Ganesh idol, Mumbaicha Raja from Ganesh Galli, Lalbaug, was immersed at 9 pm. The following afternoon, around 1:30 pm, nearly 200 volunteers from the Ganesh Galli mandal helped remove Lalbaugcha Raja’s trolley, which had sunk into the sand at Chowpatty, before successfully placing the idol onto the floating platform.

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While preparations for the immersion were underway, unexpected high tide and continuous rains forced the mandal to halt the first attempt at immersion. "Lalbaugcha Raja is the faith of millions of devotees. We attempted the immersion in the morning but decided to stop out of respect for the devotees’ sentiments," said Sudhir Salvi, secretary of the Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal.

Salvi clarified that there were no technical glitches, but the timing of the tide caused the delay. The mandal has expressed regret for the inconvenience and extended gratitude to the BMC, Mumbai Police, fishermen community, and the media for their cooperation.

According to Salvi, discussions with the local fishermen indicated that the immersion could only be carried out after 10:30 pm, when the tide recedes. "We will immerse Lalbaugcha Raja as per traditional rituals once the water levels are suitable. Until then, we will wait," he assured. The mandal also confirmed that the idol had been successfully placed on the advanced raft, but since the sea had receded during low tide, the platform could not be moved until the water level rose again.

Meanwhile, devotees performed the Uttar Aarti (final aarti) at around 8:30 pm before the immersion resumed. Despite the unprecedented delay, the spirit of devotion among the lakhs of devotees gathered at Girgaum Chowpatty remained unshaken.The immersion of Lalbaugcha Raja takes place five kilometers into the sea from Girgaon Chowpatty and about 1.5 kilometers off Raj Bhavan, in waters around 50 feet deep.