Agencies

Nearly 150 big Ganpati mandals are located in the K- West civic ward, which has so far reported 5,813 COVID-19 cases and 258 deaths, according to data of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

The Mumbai civic body has urged Ganesh mandals in prominent areas like Andheri, Juhu and Versova to follow the concept of �one ward-one Ganpati� during the festival this year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vishwas Mote, the assistant municipal commissioner of K-West ward, which covers Andheri-West, Juhu, Versova and other areas, made this appeal in a letter to the Ganpati mandals last week. The 10-day festival begins on �Ganesh Chaturthi�, which falls on August 22 this year Mumbai is one of the worst hit by coronavirus with over one lakh cases and more than 5,500 deaths due to the disease.