MUMBAI — Millions of devotees thronged Ganesh pandals across Maharashtra on Tuesday, with the celebrated Lalbaugcha Raja mandal in central Mumbai reporting some of its longest queues of the festival's peak days. The Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, which began earlier in the week, continued to draw record crowds.

Ganesh Chaturthi honours the elephant-headed deity Ganesha and is Maharashtra's largest public festival. Idols installed in homes and community pandals are worshipped over ten days before immersion in water bodies. The Lalbaugcha Raja, established in 1934, remains the most visited pandal in the country.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation deployed additional police, cleaning staff and medical teams to manage the crowds. Organisers of major mandals arranged separate queues for regular darshan and paid faster-access lines, while volunteers coordinated crowd flow through barricaded lanes.

Civic authorities and the Mumbai Police issued advisories on traffic diversions and urged devotees to use public transport. State environment officials reiterated appeals for eco-friendly clay idols and controlled immersion practices to limit water pollution.

The festival is scheduled to culminate with Anant Chaturdashi processions in the coming days, when the largest idols are carried through the streets for immersion at Girgaon Chowpatty and other coastal points.