Mumbai, Sept. 14 -- A 17-foot Ganesha idol collapsed while it was being lifted and placed inside a mandap in Malad West on Sunday morning, taking the total number of such cases in the city and suburbs this year to five. According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the incident was reported by the P/N ward control room around 10.30am from Kachpada Road No. 2, Ramchandra Lane, opposite the Mariamma Mandir, after the crane being used for the operation lost balance. The BMC's ward staff, including a junior engineer and a mukadam, rushed to the spot and police were also mobilised. Civic officials said the collapsed idol would be loaded onto a dumper using a JCB, and taken to a nearby waterbody for immersion. Like the Malad incident, the other four incidents of Ganesha idol collapse this year occurred during transportation, arrival processions and installation of idols. The first and most serious of these incidents occurred on August 22 in Bhuleshwar, when a portion of a 22-foot plaster of Paris (POP) idol broke loose from its moorings and came crashing down on people gathered in the procession, killing the president of the Ganesha mandal and a local resident. On September 8, an idol being transported from Ghatkopar to Dharavi toppled from a trolley after hitting a speed breaker near Sheetal Talao. Two people sustained minor injuries in the incident. Subsequently, sudden heavy rain and strong winds caused another idol being transported in Nalasopara to lose balance and collapse, though no serious injuries were reported. The incidents have raised concern over the handling and transportation of large idols, particularly during their movement through crowded roads and while being lifted into mandaps....