From pet aartis to feeding 1,500 dogs, Mumbai Ganeshotsav pandals put animal welfare at the heart of celebrations

For many Mumbaikars, Ganeshotsav means crowded pandals, long queues and the sound of dhol-tasha drums. But this year, some of the city’s celebrations are also making space for stray and companion animals, Free Press Journal reported on Saturday.

Several neighbourhood mandals are using their Ganeshotsav themes to promote animal welfare, with plans ranging from feeding street dogs and vaccination drives to special aartis for pets and their owners.

At Cuffe Parade, the Colaba Sankraman Shibir Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal’s Mumbaicha Krupalu is celebrating its 44th year with a Kaalbhairav-themed idol.

Kaalbhairav is a powerful manifestation of Lord Shiva, and the idol will feature a faithful black dog as his divine vehicle.

The mandal has decided that stray animals will not be driven away from the pandal during the 11-day festival. Community animals will also be fed, while pets and their owners will be welcomed for a special maha aarti.

Amit Sawant, president of the mandal and a parent to four pet dogs, said the pandal, located in the middle of a slum, has traditionally used its themes to create awareness about social issues.

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“This year we will educate people about animal welfare,” he said, explaining that the Kaalbhairav idol is being used as a symbol for the campaign.

For the duration of the festival, Sawant told FPJ, “we will ensure that strays are not shooed away and they have a place to rest inside the pandal and are also welcomed for maha aarti.”

The mandal is also encouraging families to bring their companion animals for darshan, giving pet owners a chance to include them in the festivities.

1,500 street dogs to get radium collars

The animal welfare campaign is also being taken up in Kandivali, where the Kandivalicha Adhipati Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal has partnered with JeevOne Welfare Foundation.

The initiative will focus on animal cruelty, illegal wildlife trade, plastic pollution, habitat loss and water scarcity.

As part of the campaign, the mandal will feed street dogs twice a day until visarjan. It will also conduct a rabies vaccination programme and tie radium collars to around 1,500 street dogs.

A Maha-paw-aarti for pets is also planned.

Bhushan Tayde, a member of the mandal, said the festival was an opportunity to remind people that animals share the same urban spaces.

“People have forgotten that animals also have a place on this planet and their acts harm the voiceless beings,” he said.

Tayde pointed to the symbolism of Lord Ganesha himself, saying, “Lord Ganesha has become a powerful symbol of coexistence, with the head of an animal.”

The campaign will also seek to educate visitors about laws dealing with animal cruelty, he said.

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Microchip camp for pets

JeevOne Welfare Foundation founder Sanket Bhatt said the campaign would combine awareness with practical welfare measures.

“Through various awareness and welfare initiatives with community participation, we aim to encourage people to care, protect and speak for the voiceless,” Bhatt said.

The organisation will also conduct a microchip implant camp for pets. “We will also hold a microchip implant camp so that pet parents can have a permanent identity of their kids,” he said.

With these initiatives, the mandals are using one of Mumbai’s biggest public festivals to put animal welfare alongside their traditional celebrations, while encouraging devotees to think about the animals that share their neighbourhoods.