The Mumbai civic body has collected 508 tonnes of 'nirmalya' (floral offerings) from natural water bodies and more than 290 artificial ponds following the immersion of idols of Lord Ganesh and Goddess Gauri, officials said.

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' wife Amruta Fadnavis, and civic chief Bhushan Gagrani joined the special cleanliness drive at the famous Juhu beach here on Sunday after the conclusion of the 11-day Ganpati festival.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in a release on Sunday said it had promoted the use of artificial ponds for idol immersions, and city residents responded positively to the awareness campaigns, opting in greater numbers for eco-friendly immersion.

The BMC launched the large-scale cleaning operation across beaches and other sites after the festival concluded with Anant Chaturdashi on Saturday.

As part of the post-Ganpati festival drive, the civic body collected 508 metric tonnes of 'nirmalya' from natural water bodies and more than 290 artificial ponds set up across the city, the release said.

According to the BMC, 1,97,114 Ganesh idols were immersed during the 11-day festival, including 1,81,375 household idols, 10,148 public mandal idols, and 5,591 idols of Goddess Gauri and Hartalika.

Of them, the maximum 60,434 idols were immersed after one-and-a-half days of the festival, 40,230 on the fifth day, 59,704 on the seventh day, and 36,746 on the last day of the festival.

Out of the idols immersed on the last day, 5,937 were of public mandals, 30,490 of households, and 319 were of Goddess Gauri, the BMC said.

The immersion process was carried out smoothly owing to detailed planning, coordination with the Mumbai Police and other government agencies, and cooperation from Ganesh devotees and citizens, the release said.

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