Tilak Road Ganesh Visarjan Procession to End Early with Help from Volunteers: Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar

Pune, July 29, 2025: In a significant move to streamline the annual Ganesh Visarjan (immersion) procession on Tilak Road, Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar stated that the police are working in cooperation with volunteers to ensure the procession concludes ahead of time. For the first time, the Tilak Road Visarjan Procession Planning Committee proactively convened a meeting to address delays experienced in previous years.

During the meeting, various issues faced during the immersion procession were raised by committee members and volunteers. Commissioner Amitesh Kumar responded positively and assured that steps would be taken promptly to resolve these challenges.

Key demands and suggestions presented during the meeting included:

1. Deploy senior police officers at Abhinav Chowk (Puram Chowk) to decongest traffic and allow faster movement of Ganesh mandals.

2. Ensure planned priority-based access for Ganesh mandals approaching Tilak Road from Satara Road, Shivaji Road, Swargate–Jedhe Chowk, Bajirao Road, and Adam Bagh Masjid Road.

3. Address obstruction caused by a low-height CCTV pole and adjacent divider near a tailoring shop at Abhinav Chowk, which hampers movement of immersion chariots.

4. Create a separate immersion tank exclusively for mandals on Tilak Road, preferably at locations like Laxmi Road, Vitthal Mandir, or Bharati Bhavan to reduce crowding and walking distance.

5. Like Laxmi Road, install permanent, sturdy iron barricades on both sides of Tilak Road (from Swargate–Jedhe Chowk to Alka Talkies Chowk) for safer pedestrian movement and crowd control.

6. Redesign the welcome pavilion at Alka Talkies Chowk, ensuring its placement considers the Tilak Road entry route.

7. Implement strict parking regulations post-immersion on roads like Lal Bahadur Shastri Road, Dandekar Bridge, and Saras Baug Chowk, as unauthorized parking delays the chariot movements and causes congestion.

8. Strengthen public safety measures on Tilak Road, with a focus on women’s security.

9. Provide ample, well-equipped mobile toilets along the immersion route, especially prioritizing women’s needs.

10. Utilize vacant PMC-owned land to set up dedicated food zones, keeping footpaths clear for pedestrians.

11. Enforce a strict ban on illegal liquor sales along the Tilak Road route on immersion day.

12. Install adequate lighting at major junctions like Swargate–Jedhe Chowk, Hirabaug Chowk, Abhinav Chowk, SP College Chowk, NES Chowk, and Alka Talkies Chowk.

13. Withdraw pending legal cases against Ganesh mandals, emphasizing that Ganeshotsav represents Maharashtra’s social and cultural unity.

The meeting was attended by Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar, Joint Commissioner Ranjankumar Sharma, Additional Commissioners Manoj Patil and Rajesh Bansode, DCPs Rishikesh Raval (Zone 1), Milind Mohite (Zone 2), Sambhaji Kadam (Zone 3), and DCP (Traffic) Himmat Jadhav, along with office-bearers from various mandals including Shyam Mankar (Hatti Ganpati), Suryakant Pathak (Grahak Peth), Shirish Mohite (Seva Mitra Mandal), Dheeraj Ghate (Sane Guruji Mandal), Dr. Milind Bhoi (Vighnaharta Trust), Pravin Chorbele, and Rajabhau Kadam.

The session was organized by the Tilak Road Visarjan Procession Planning Committee members including Amit Bagul, Pushkar Tuljapurkar, Ganesh Ghosh, Umesh Vaidya, Sudhir Dhamale, Sagar Bagul, Rishikesh Bhujbal, Vinayak Dharane, and Manisha Dharane.