Amid chants of "Ganpati Bappa Morya", lakhs of people in Maharashtra on Saturday bid adieu to Lord Ganesha [Images], ending the 10-day Ganapati festival.

In Mumbai, people were seen taking Ganesh idols of various shapes and sizes for immersion since early morning.

Prominent public Ganesh mandals like the one at Lalbaug in central Mumbai, whose `Lalbaugcha Raja' is a huge draw every year, also began the immersion processions earlier in the day.

Police have made elaborate security arrangements to ensure peaceful immersion of idols of over 8,200 public mandals at about 80 'visarjan' (immersion) points in the city, including Girgaum, Juhu, Dadar Chowpatty and Powai and Gorai.

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Throughout the route of the immersion procession, police have set up special ramps to monitor the crowd.

Traffic diversions have been made at several places for smooth passage of the idols.

This year the Supreme Court had imposed a 10 pm deadline for the use of loudspeakers. Police have already lodged cases against some Ganesh mandals in the city for flouting the deadline.

Every year, the processions continue till early morning the next day.

This year's festival comes in the wake of the heavy rains, which lashed Mumbai and other parts of the state, causing widespread damage to life and property.

Municipal authorities have made arrangements of lifeguards at beaches like Aksa, where several people drown every year during the immersion proceedings.