In such circumstances it becomes necessary to get to know some of the major mandals in Pune.

Kasba Ganpati First Ganpati of Honor in Pune

Existing since the year 1893, this is located in the Kasba Peth in Pune. Since then it has occupied the first position. It is believed that a Ganpati idol was discovered near the residence of one Shri Vinayak Thakar. In sheer devotion, he got a temple constructed here. This is the Gram Daivat of the idol. Today the mandal has the best tableaux ever. It draws inspiration from history, social issues and epics. There are stories from Sai Baba’s life, or sometimes it is something historical. With Anna Hazare, the social activist catching everyone’s interest, even that becomes a topic for mandals. Visit this mandal to see what the surprise is this year.

Tambdi Jogeshwari Second Ganpati of Honor in Pune

This is the second most popular of the Ganpati idols in the city of Pune. Existing since the year 1893, it is located at Budhwar Peth. This is one of the idols that were erected when Lokmanya Tilak, the Indian leader started the festival with the idea of uprising the social Indian class. Today this centenary and seven year old mandal is a unique combination of devotion and creativity. The idol very much resembles elephants from Africa.

Guruji Talim Third Ganpati of Honor in Pune

Third in the line of popularity, this Ganpati is located at the Ganpati Chowk in Laxmi road in the city of Pune. This was started in the year 1887 and existed even before the Indian leader Lokmanya Tilak publicized the festival for the betterment of the masses. This established a unity between the Hindus and the Muslims. This was incidentally the first among the mandals which celebrated a 100 years of existence.

Tulsibaug Fourth Ganpati of Honor in Pune

This is the fourth line of fame in the Ganpati mandals. This is also the oldest and the famous mandal in the city of Pune. It is more famous for its huge idol and also amongst the first to make an idol out of fiber glass. Mr. D.S. Khataokar is the architect who creates this idol measuring 15 feet.

Kesariwada  Fifth Ganpati of Honor in Pune

Located at Narayanpeth in Tilakwada in Pune, this Ganpati mandal exists since the year 1893. This is important as it was established by the Indian leader Lokmanya Tilak. With issues of social causes always depicted and the awareness spread, this mandal has a social programme with speeches given by experienced people. It also encourages children and women to take part in competitions organized.

Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Sarvajanik Ganpati

Having the dubious distinction of being the richest Ganpati in the city, the Puneites come here to visit their favourite idol. Existing since 1893, it is managed by the trust of the same name

Pune: If you are planning to visit the Kasba Ganpati, make sure you have enough time in hand to wait at the traffic jams. For the ongoing concretisation work on a 300 metre portion of the road near Kasba Ganpati temple has resulted in the road becoming chock-ablock with traffic.

With the monsoon already here, the road, which is narrow as per urban norms, has become a nightmare for the citizens, who, now, only hope that the work is over soon. The concretisation had started in early May.

The temple, known as the gram-daivat (presiding deity) of Pune city, is also a tourist attraction and witnesses large number of devotees and tourists visiting. To ease the congestion, the vendors outside the temple have been allocated spots to set up small shops.

Kasba Peth also has an online booking facility for Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh. With hundreds of devotees visiting the centre daily for booking their tickets, the place is always crowded.

Vishal Chaudhari, a salesman in Kasba Peth, says, “The road is blocked by heavy traffic every day due to the concretization work. No barricades are placed to prevent the commuters from entering the under-construction part on the road. Instead of erecting iron barricades, the corporation has put thin stripes that are not visible at night, causing a major inconvenience to the residents.”

Congress corporator from the area Vidya Bhokare claims the work was slightly delayed as electricity and other underground cables had to be shifted to the side of the road. We are expecting the work to be over by next week, says Bhokare.

Sachin Mhaswade, a private bank employee, fears that if it starts raining heavily, the underconstruction area will be waterlogged . “As there are no visible barricades, commuters might fall into the duct, especially during rains. It is dangerous as the construction is on in a residential area where children play in the evening .”

Sunil Kesari, ward officer of the area, observes, “Kasba peth, with all its narrow roads and traffic congestion, had unique problems , such as non-availability of free land for dumping the construction material, apart from typical issues such as delay in issuing tenders and work orders. However, efforts are on to complete the construction work as soon as possible.”

MLA Girish Bapat says, “The work might be delayed because of the shifting of the duct to the roadside for laying various cables . But, the work would be finished soon and once it’s completed traffic situation will ease. The concretised, wide road will solve the bottleneck near the temple.”

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), which started the restoration of this grade I heritage structure a year ago, has completed more than half the work.

Apart from strengthening the original structure, restoration work such as re-establishing the structure’s original elevation, reducing dead load and removing unwanted alterations that took place during the last few centuries, have been undertaken in compliance with heritage norms.

Though a private property, the temple had received state funding of Rs 40 lakh for restoration.

Deputy city engineer Shyaam Dhavalaey of the heritage cell of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), said, “The stone temple dates back to the Yadava dynasty, and has some elements of its architecture. It has also seen the Peshwa dynasty, as the wooden ‘sabha mandap’ exudes typical Maratha architectural traces. The temple has undergone numerous developments over a period of time. The structure had become weak, leading to its devaluation. Hence the restorations work.”

The civic body wants to re-establish the structure’s heritage value and restore it to its original form, he said.

Dhavalaey said Kasba Peth it was MLA Girish Bapat’s keen interest in getting the restoration work done that helped get the fund for the project.

The structure was surveyed during the first phase, followed by structural auditing. “Stone, traditional brickwork and a wooden ‘sabha mandap’ were the structural components that were found. It underwent non-destructive testing (NDT), a wide group of analyses techniques used to evaluate its properties without damaging its woodwork,” Dhavalaey said.

The original elevation or the front portion of the structure was restored after these procedures. “The elevation wall was plastered. We removed the plaster through the processes of grinding and pointing, so that the original brick work could be exposed. The roof of the temple has also been strengthened. The galvanised iron sheets, which had been put during earlier periods, were replaced by specially-manufactured half-round tiles, the original roof,” Dhavalaey said.

Source: Times of India