Mumbai: Defying recession and deadliest swine flu, the donations made to Mumbai's famous Lalbaughcha ka Raja ganesh mandal touched over Rs 6 crore, the highest so far in the past 76 years. The counting is still going on.
According to the Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesh Mandal, the devotees donated a total of Rs 5 crore in cash when counting closed on Monday evening.
"The devotion to Bappa took care of problems like swine flu," said Sunil Joshi, former president of Lalbaug Ganesh Mandal.
The counting for the donations of ornaments and coins has been underway and all of which will be auctioned after the counting and proceeds will be given to charity.
"People donate out of a belief that the Lord has listened to their prayers. This kind of faith is not affected by things like recession," said Satish Khankar, president of Lalbagh Ganesh Mandal.
Clearly, neither recession nor swine flu have kept Mumbaikars away from their favourite deity.