At least 20 people died, 14 of whom drowned, amid various incidents related to the immersion of Ganesh's idols in Maharashtra, police reported on Saturday.
Mumbai: At least 20 people died, 14 of whom drowned, amid various incidents related to the immersion of Ganesh idols in some areas of Maharashtra, police reported on Saturday.
The 10-day Ganesh festival that had begun on August 31 came to a close on Friday.
An official reported that one person drowned at Devli and three people drowned at Sawangi in the Wardha district.
Two people perished at a pond in the Yavatmal district during the immersion of an idol. Police official further added that two other people died in the north Maharashtra district of Jalgaon, one each at Chalisgaon and Jamner, and that two people drowned in separate instances at Supa and Belvandi in the Ahmednagar district.
One person each died at Ghodegaon and Yavat in Pune district, in Dhule district, Lonikand in Satara district, and Solapur city, as reported by cops.
Four people died in a road accident in the Sakkardara area of Nagpur city during Ganesh immersion, he said.
A political tussle was also seen as a fight broke out between the supporters of two factions, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, at Tophkhana in Ahmednagar district, a police official said.
He said several people pelted stones as well at the mayor’s bungalow during the Ganesh immersion procession.
“Like every year, this year too we got an opportunity to serve the devotees,” the Mumbai police said.