Mumbai, Sept. 14 -- Mumbai's prominent Ganesh mandals are spending crores of rupees on Ganesh Utsav celebrations this year, with expenditure covering pandal construction, decorations, security and arrangements for lakhs of devotees, even as rising inflation pushes up overall costs.

Chinchpokli Sarvajanik Utsav Mandal, which organises Chinchpokli cha Chintamani, has an overall budget of around Rs 2 crore this year, which could rise to nearly Rs 2.25 crore due to inflation, while the pandal setup alone costs around Rs 50 lakh.

Atul Kerkar, Treasurer of the Chinchpokli Sarvajanik Utsav Mandal, said the mandal is celebrating its 107th year since its establishment in 1920.

Speaking to ANI about the expenditure, Kerkar said, "Our total budge...