Ganpati mandal says no to skirts, shorts

The ‘Andhericha Raja’ Ganpati mandal is raising quite a few eyebrows, with its enforcement of a dress-code that bars the entry of male and female devotees who may be seen as improperly attired by its guards and volunteers.

Minis, shorts or attires ending up above the knees are not allowed inside the pandal for those who want a darshan of Andhericha Raja idol of Lord Ganesh, during the 10-day Ganeshotsav. The dress-code in fact is not new. The mandal has been enforcing it for the last five years and usually puts up notices and posters outside the pandal, asking devotees to not come for darshan wearing mini skirts or shorts.

A mandal spokesperson told The Asian Age, “We do not allow men or women who are not suitably dressed. Any person above the age of 13, male or female, must come properly attired or he or she will be denied entry by our security personnel and mandal volunteer. It is distracting for other devotees.”

“We usually ask them to come the next day suitably dressed or offer them track pants for women and lungis for men that they can wear to take darshan. This rule is applicable for celebrities too. Our devotees come from foreign shores and other states. In order to cater to them, we make available the track pants and lungis. They are allowed to enter the pandal only if they are dressed suitably in these. We have also discarded plastic bags and ordered 2,00,000 small cloth bags to disburse prasad as part of our efforts to spread social messages among our devotees.”

Senior PI Bharat Gaikwad of the Amboli police station said he had not received any complaint about the mandal, so no sentiments were being hurt.