Mumbai: A pall of gloom descended on Bhuleshwar on Sunday after a nearly 2-tonne 27ft idol of Bhuleshwar Cha Raja fell and crushed two Ganesh mandal members during its arrival ceremony the previous night about 300m away from the site where it was to be installed.Officials said the five who were injured, including two children, were stable. They said around 800-1,000 people were at the site at the time of the tragedy. Idol collapses during arrival processions are rare. L T Marg police lodged two accidental death cases and initiated a probe. No FIR was filed.Fire brigade personnel and Ganpati mandal volunteers spent nearly two hours gathering the idol’s fragments. Police maintained a strict vigil around the site and prevented people from filming or photographing the remains, citing religious sensitivity.Officials said they were looking into multiple factors that could have led to the crash, including whether a blue decorative portion of the idol, which was being transported along with the main structure, became entangled in an overhead wire and caused the idol to separate and fall. Potential structural/welding failure, uneven weight distribution, sudden braking or change in movement are also being looked into. A video of the tragedy showed that the idol’s garland was the first to give way.Officials prima facie rejected a theory that a pothole may have destabilised the trolley carrying the idol. They said the road from Lalbaug, from where the idol was brought, till Bhuleshwar was well laid and no major potholes were found during an inspection.Former BMC corporator and former MLA Atul Shah said the narrowness of the lane through which the idol was being taken may have compounded the tragedy. “It is a very narrow lane, and when such a large idol came crashing down, people in the procession may not have had enough space to move away. This isn’t the first time, though, that the idol was brought through this route. The same route has been followed for several years. So, everyone was familiar with the road,” he said.The idol used to be earlier installed in one of the lanes in Panchyatwadi before being shifted to a road near Ram Temple 100ft away a few years ago, said locals.State cultural affairs minister Ashish Shelar urged Ganesh mandals to strictly monitor the planks used to carry idols, the design of wheels and iron components. “I appeal to all devotees and mandals to strictly follow police’s instructions. We have already directed BMC to ensure that road conditions are addressed on priority and that immediate action is taken within 24 hours to make roads safe for the arrival of Ganesh idols.”Scores of residents, Ganesh mandal workers and political party members gathered as the funeral bier of one of the two victims—Sanket Nevshe (33), president of Bhuleshwar Cha Raja mandal who lived close by, in Chira Bazar—made its way towards the Chandanwadi crematorium through the same narrow lane where tragedy had struck barely 12 hours earlier. The other victim—Brijesh Hemant Joshi (30)—lived in a building just a few feet from the spot and is survived by wife Rima, their son Rishav and his mother. Many came to pay their condolences.According to eyewitnesses, the idol’s metal rod pierced Nevshe as he tried to prevent the idol from falling. Some said he may have rushed forward to protect children who were standing directly in front of the idol, putting himself in its path. “The idol weighed almost 2 tonne. No human could have stopped it once it began falling,” said an eyewitness.BJP corporator Akash Purohit said Nevshe was a vegetable wholesaler. “I have known his family for a very long time. His father, too, was closely associated with the mandal. Later, Nevshe and his brother took over the reins.”A local, Jay Shah, said he had met Nevshe just 10 minutes before the idol collapsed. “His death has shocked the entire locality. He came from a family that was deeply involved in social and political activities. His father, too, was very active in the area.”Neighbours said Joshi had been closely associated with the mandal because of its proximity to his home. “There were hundreds of people around when the idol was being brought in, including several dhol players walking ahead of it,” said a neighbour.Inside the mandal, which is managed by Akhil Bhuleshwar Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal Trust, there was little trace of the festive preparations—only broken fragments of the idol, a metal rod and the trolley on which the idol was transported remained.
