Peace will prevail in the Valley on arrival of Bappa, say Ganesh mandals in Kashmir (Video)

Ganesh idols handed over to three mandals in Kashmir; Manache Ganpati mandals present, initiative of Young Entrepreneur Punit Balan and Manache Ganpati mandals

Pune: Ganeshotsav will be celebrated in Kashmir Valley for the second consecutive year. It is an initiative of Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari Ganpati Trust Celebration Chief and Young Entrepreneur Punit Balan and seven Manache Ganpati mandals from Pune.

The initiative will establish peace and social harmony among various religious communities in the valley. Ganesh idols were handed over to three Ganesh mandal workers from Kashmir after performing the Puja by Manache Ganesh mandals from Pune.

The Ganpati Festival was celebrated for one-and-a-half days at Lal Chowk in Srinagar last year. It will be observed at three places in the valley this year. It will be celebrated in Anantnag and Kupwara for five days. These mandals were handed over replicas of Manache Ganpati idols on Saturday after performing the puja. The second Manacha Ganpati Tambdi Jogeshwari Ganesh Mandal replica was given to Ganpatyar Trust from Lal Chowk in Srinagar. The third Manacha Ganpati Guruji Talim Ganesh Mandal’s replica was handed over to Kupwara Ganesh Mandal while the fourth Manacha Ganpati Tulshibaug Ganesh Mandal’s replica was given to Anantnag Ganesh Mandal from south Kashmir. Office-bearers of Ganesh mandals from the valley Mohit Bhan, Sandip Raina, Sandip Kaul, and Nitin Raina received the idols.

Young Entrepreneur and Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari Ganpati Trust Celebration Chief Punit Balan, Kasba Ganpati Mandal’s Shrikant Shete, Tambdi Jogeshwari Mandal’s Prasad Kulkarni, Guruju Talim Mandal’s Pravin Pardeshi, Tulshibaug Ganpati Mandal’s Vikas Pawar and Nitin Pandit, Kesari Wada Mandal’s Anil Sapkal and Akhil Mandai Mandal’s office-bearer and Senior Worker Anna Thorat were present.

Speaking on the occasion Akhil Mandai Mandal’s Anna Thorat said, “Ganeshotsav has reached across the world. But it has been started in restive Kashmir with the efforts of Punitji. I congratulate him. People belonging to all religions come together and celebrate it in Kashmir. Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari pioneered the festival in Pune. Similarly, Punit Balan started it in Kashmir.”

Kasba Ganpati Mandal’s Shrikant Shete said, “Kashmir is a paradise in India. Ganeshotsav will be celebrated there for the second consecutive year with the initiative of Punitji. I congratulate him. He has done a great job of taking Pune’s tradition to Kashmir.”

Ganpatyar Ganesh Mandal’s Mohit Bhan said, “We are happy that we are celebrating the Ganesh Festival due to the cooperation of Punitji and blessings of Ganpati Bappa. The festival will foster peace and social harmony in Kashmir.”

Sandip Raina said, “The festival will be held for the first time in Anantnag. Girl students from colleges will participate in it. Most of the youths have studied in Maharashtra. I am sure they will respond well to the festival.”

“We started celebrating Ganeshotsav from Lal Chowk last year with the cooperation of the seven main Ganesh mandals. Mandal workers came to me without fearing terror acts. They requested me to take forward this movement to establish peace. They requested to hold the festival at three places this year. Thus, the festival promoting Pune’s cultural tradition will be celebrated in Kashmir. I am happy that it is expanding in the valley. I pray to Bappa to bless Kashmir, the paradise in India, with peace.”

• Punit Balan (Celebration Chief and Trustee, Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari Ganpati Trust)