KNT Web Desk
The seven Ganapati Mandals in Pune (Maharashtra) will celebrate at least one and a half days of Ganesh festival with their lord Ganpati idols in various districts of Kashmir next year, reported ‘Outlook’ quoting Punit Balan, Trustee and the festival head of the Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari Trust as having said at a press conference.
“If we send Ganesha idols to multiple foreign countries like US, Spain, etc then why not bring it to Kashmir? The citizens here (Kashmir) respond to initiatives like Amarnath Yatra, Har Ghar Tiranga, while we are confident that they will also give a huge response to our Ganesh festival as well,” he said.
“The seven mandals in Pune will be installing replicas of their Ganesha in various districts of Kashmir next year. The initiative will be implemented to support the citizens in Kashmir. The cultural festival will be celebrated against Pakistan-sponsored militant activities.” Punit Balan, festival head of The Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari Ganapati Trust, expressed confidence that Kashmiri pandits here will also participate in the celebration of Bappa because of this.
“Pune’s Ganesh festival has a rich heritage. At a time when the economic development of Jammu and Kashmir is at its peak after the abrogation of Article 370, we are trying our best to ensure that citizens here should also get to experience this 130-year-old cultural heritage of Maharashtra,” he added.
