Ganesh Chaturthi 2023: Pune pandal to showcase Ram Mandir theme

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], September 16 (ANI): As the Ganesh Chaturthi festival is approaching, a Ganesh pandal themed on Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir is being constructed in Maharashtra’s Pune by the Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Sarvajanik Ganpati Trust.

The organisers said that they have been working on the pandal for the past two months and it will be ready in a day or two.

The installation of the idol of Lord Ganesh in the Pandal is going to be done by the chief of RSS, Mohan Bhagwat, an organising committee official said.

The organisers said that they chose the Ram Mandir theme to give people a glimpse of what the temple would look like when it opens in January 2024 in Ayodhya.

“We have tried to replicate the design of the Ram Mandir, where Lord Ram is going to be seated, along with the ten avatars on the side. We are also building a Ram Setu from where people will enter. There will be fifteen to twenty statues of Lord Hanuman holding a stone in their hands,” said an official from the organising committee.

The official added that every year, around two crore people visit their pandal, but this year they expect around five crore visitors.

“We have invited Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and he has assured them that he will definitely come,” the organising committee official said.

This year the Ganesh Chaturthi festival will begin on September 19 and will continue for ten days until September 29.