Elaborately-decorated giant Ganesha idols were sent out to sea off Mumbai on Sunday as millions of Indian Hindus marked the end of a major festival celebrating the elephant-headed deity. (Photo: Debasish Dey )
Security was tight with 45,000 police officers on the streets and Kulkarni said that by late evening operations were going smoothly. (Photo: Satej Shinde)
Bollywood actors Rajiv Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor and Randhir Kapoor gestures during the immersion of R K Studio Lord Ganesh, on the occasion 11th day of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival at RK Films and Studio, Chembur in Mumbai. (Photo: Rajesh Jadav)
Mumbai Police Deputy Commissioner Dhananjay Kulkarni said an estimated three million people were out in Mumbai on Sunday to bid farewell to Ganesha for another year. (Photo: Rajesh Jadav)
At the start of the festival, families bring the idols, which depict the one-tusked, four-armed Ganesha sitting holding a sweet delicacy, to their houses. (Photo: Rajesh Jadav)
The festival is celebrated annually across India and is marked by Hindus in every corner of the globe. In pic, actor Nana Patekar celebrates Ganpati festival at his home. (Photo: Satej Shinde)
The lavish celebration, which also saw singing and dancing on the streets, brought to a close a hugely popular 11-day religious celebration that honours Ganesha, the son of Lord Shiva and the goddess Parvati. (Photo: Debasish Dey)
Devotees ritually immersed in water thousands of exquisitely designed statues of the Hindu god, some 24-feet tall, at beaches up and down the coast of India's commercial capital. (Photo: Debashish Dey)
With pomp and show, devotees bid adieu to Lord Ganesh in Mumbai