Maha: 2-wheelers banned on final immersion day

In a first, the Maharashtra government has announced a ban on two wheelers on Ananth Chaturthi, the day the city will bid adieu to Lord Ganesha. The ban will be enforced on Sunday only on immersion routes across the state.

The state government's decision comes a day after the Delhi high court blast.      

While government and Anti-Terrorism Squad officials refused to comment, the ban has been imposed, as there were credible alerts that a bomb could be placed on two wheelers on immersion routes leading to the sea. In fact, the state government received an alert of a possible terror attack on Tuesday.  

While police officials and mandals have beefed up security across the state and CCTV cameras have been installed in all pandals and along immersion routes, the state feels that Mumbai and other cities could be soft targets on Sunday as lakhs and lakhs of devotees are expected pour onto the streets on the final day of immersion.

The ban will be imposed only on Ananth Chaturthi and no other day.