On the holy festival of Ganeshotsav, the country’s financial capital Mumbai gets completely colored in the colors of devotion and joy of Bappa. Although there are many historical and prestigious Ganpati Mandals in Mumbai like ‘Lalbaugcha Raja’ and ‘Andhericha Raja’, but when it comes to grandeur, gold jewelery and record insurance cover, the name of Matunga-based GSB Seva Mandal comes at the top. Devotees lovingly call Ganapati Bappa who resides here as ‘Gold Ganesha’. Bappa’s supernatural court, adorned with pure gold and silver jewelery from head to toe, attracts lakhs of devotees every year.
The grandeur of Ganpati of GSB Seva Mandal can be gauged from the fact that the weight of the jewelery offered on Bappa’s idol is measured in quintals:
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Gold Jewellery: The huge idol of Bappa is decorated with crown, earrings, bracelets, necklace and other ornaments made from more than 66 kilograms of pure gold.
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Silver throne and utensils: More than 300 kilograms of pure silver is used in Ganapati’s grand throne, canopy and puja utensils.
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Unwavering dedication of the devotees: All these jewelery have not been purchased by the Board, but have been donated with devotion by the devotees from India and abroad in the last several decades on fulfillment of their wishes.
In terms of security and risk management, GSB Seva Mandal is considered to be the safest and most technically equipped pandal in the country. Like every year, this time also Mandal More than ₹400 crore Have taken historical insurance cover of:
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Safety of jewelery and gold-silver: An insurance of around ₹40 crore to ₹50 crore is stipulated only to protect Bappa’s gold and silver jewelery from theft, robbery or any kind of loss.
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Personal Accident Cover of Devotees and Volunteers: There is a public liability and accidental insurance of more than ₹250 crore for the lakhs of devotees who visit the pandal, the cooks, security guards and volunteers of the mandal.
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Fire and Natural Disaster Safety: There is a coverage of over ₹30 crore to keep the pandal infrastructure and setup safe from fire, earthquake or other natural disasters.
Unlike other pandals where the immersion takes place on the 10th day (Anant Chaturdashi), at GSB Seva Mandal the festivities are celebrated with full grandeur and Vedic traditions for only 5 days:
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100% Eco-Friendly Clay Statue: Despite being laden with gold, the main idol of Bappa is made of 100% natural clay (Shadu Mati) and natural colors, so that there is no harm to the environment.
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Facial Recognition and AI Cameras: For security, there are dozens of high-definition CCTV cameras, Artificial Intelligence (AI) based facial recognition technology and tight monitoring of private security commandos around the clock.
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Annadan and Vedic service: Within 5 days, Mahaprasad is served on traditional banana leaves to thousands of people every day and chanting of mantras and havan-puja continues continuously in the South Indian Vedic system.
This wonderful confluence of tradition, unwavering faith and modern management makes GSB Seva Mandal the most unique and grand center of Ganpati celebration across the world.