Bappa in mosque: Ganesh festival fosters harmony in Maharashtra village
Sangli (PTI): A village here in Maharashtra has been witnessing a unique Ganesh festival celebration for more than four decades with the installation of the lord Ganesha's idol in a mosque.
Religious tensions elsewhere have never impacted the residents of Gotkhindi village in Sangli district, having a population of nearly 15,000, including 100 families belonging to the Muslim community, a local Ganesh mandal founder, Ashok Patil, told PTI.
Muslims are also members of the mandal. They participate in the preparation of ‘prasad’ (offering), join in prayers and assist in the festival arrangements, the 60-year-old resident said.
The tradition began in 1980 when members of the Hindu and Muslim communities decided to move a Ganpati idol inside a mosque at Gotkhindi village in Sangli district due to heavy rains, he said.
“The practice has continued peacefully since then, and there is active participation from the Muslim community. The New Ganesh Tarun Mandal at Jhunjar Chowk in the village was set up in 1980,” Patil said.
The idol is kept in the mosque for the 10-day celebration and then immersed in a local water body during the culmination of the festival on Anant Chaturdashi.
Once Bakar Eid and Ganesh Chaturthi dates coincided, prompting the Muslims to celebrate their festival only by offering namaz and not ‘qurbani’, Patil said. “They even avoid meat during Hindu festivals,” he added.
“The entire country should take inspiration from the social and religious harmony here,” he said.
Patil said the local police and tehsildar are invited for the ‘pran pratistha’ (consecration) of the Ganesh idol every year.
The 10-day Ganpati festival commenced from August 27 this year.
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41 lakh illicit liquor seized, 1.84 lakh arrested in major drive: K'taka Minister tells Assembly
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The Karnataka Excise Department has conducted a statewide crackdown on illegal liquor trade over the last two years, resulting in arrests and seizures of alcohol, Karnataka Excise Minister R B Timmapur said on Tuesday.
As many as 1,09,017 people were arrested, and seizures included 13.66 lakh litres of liquor and 27.19 lakh litres of beer, he said in a written reply to a starred question by Harihar BJP MLA B P Harish in the Karnataka Assembly.
The Minister said the enforcement drive covered the financial year 2023–24, 2024–25 up to June, and 2025–26 from July to October, targeting unauthorised liquor manufacture, storage, sale and transportation across the State.
"During this period, statewide enforcement drives resulted in a total of 1,84,570 raids against illegal liquor sales,” Timmapur said.
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He noted that 9,179 non-bailable cases and 91,968 bailable and compoundable cases under Section 15(A) of the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, were registered during the same period.
According to him, there have been no reports indicating that students have become addicted to alcohol due to illegal liquor sales.
The sale of alcohol to minors is strictly prohibited under the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, and the department has issued periodic instructions to initiate legal action against violators, with strict enforcement and investigation measures in place, the Minister said.
Excise officials are carrying out regular road and night patrols, collecting intelligence, monitoring habitual offenders and conducting raids to identify illicit distillation units, unauthorised liquor outlets and spurious liquor manufacturing centres, he said, adding the department is also enforcing the law to prevent the production, storage, sale and transport of spurious, non-duty-paid and unauthorised liquor.
Regular patrols are being conducted on national and state highways, with suspicious vehicles being subjected to checks.
At the district level, standing committee meetings are held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioners, and joint operations are carried out with the police and forest departments to curb excise-related offences.
The department is also conducting awareness programmes through Gram Sabhas and in schools and colleges to educate the public and students about the physical, mental and social health hazards associated with alcohol addiction and substance abuse, Timmapur added.
