The new Mayor’s Bungalow of the Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) in Kharghar is hosting its first Ganeshotsav this year, with Mayor Nitin Patil using the occasion to bring civic officials, employees and frontline workers together through a series of aarti and fellowship programmes.
Rather than limiting participation to senior officials, the celebrations have included people working across different arms of the civic administration — from police personnel and engineers to sanitation workers responsible for keeping the city clean.
On the first day of Ganeshotsav, police personnel were given the honour of performing the aarti. Those present included Sanjay Joshi, Senior Police Inspector, Kharghar Police Station, Gulfaroz Mujawar of the traffic branch, along with other police officers and personnel.
The following day, City Engineer Rajesh Kardile and more than 50 engineers performed the aarti and participated in the celebrations.
On Wednesday, Additional Municipal Commissioner Ganesh Shete, along with deputy commissioners and heads of various departments, visited the Mayor’s Bungalow and offered prayers to Lord Ganesha.
The celebrations then turned the spotlight on the civic workers who work on the city’s streets every day. On Thursday, Chief Sanitation Inspector Arun Kamble, along with sanitation workers and other frontline staff involved in keeping the city clean, were given the honour of performing the aarti.
The participation of sanitation workers has been a notable feature of the celebrations, placing frontline civic staff alongside senior officers during the festival.
The programme has also been marked by a more informal interaction between the Mayor and civic employees. Instead of a formal reception, Patil has been personally interacting with visiting officers and staff and encouraging them to stay for a meal after the aarti.
The Ganeshotsav at the Mayor’s Bungalow has consequently taken on the character of an informal gathering of the municipal administration, bringing together employees from different departments and levels of responsibility during the festival.
Meanwhile, former MP Loknete Ramseth Thakur and senior leader Y.T. Deshmukh visited the Mayor’s Bungalow, offered prayers and took darshan of Lord Ganesha.:::
