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By:

Naresh Kamath

5 November 2024 at 11:00:38 am

Corporatisation of Ganesh Mandals affect devotees

People carry an idol of lord Ganesh to a 'pandal' ahead of 'Ganesh Chaturthi' festival in Mumbai on Tuesday. Mumbai: As the Aagman (welcoming) of Lord Chintamani saw a sea of humanity descend in the Lalbaug-Parel belt on Saturday, one could not escape the stamp of the Adani Group which has now become an exclusive partner of the Chinchpokli Sarvajanik Utsav mandal. Following the Ambani’s which has patronised the nearby Lalbaugcha Raja from the last few years, the move by the Chinchpokli Ganesh...

Corporatisation of Ganesh Mandals affect devotees

People carry an idol of lord Ganesh to a 'pandal' ahead of 'Ganesh Chaturthi' festival in Mumbai on Tuesday. Mumbai: As the Aagman (welcoming) of Lord Chintamani saw a sea of humanity descend in the Lalbaug-Parel belt on Saturday, one could not escape the stamp of the Adani Group which has now become an exclusive partner of the Chinchpokli Sarvajanik Utsav mandal. Following the Ambani’s which has patronised the nearby Lalbaugcha Raja from the last few years, the move by the Chinchpokli Ganesh Mandal to partner with the Adani group is increasingly seen as corporatisation of the most popular festival of Maharashtra.“There is no partnership or deal as such. We have just given them exclusive advertising rights,” said Santosh Sohni, secretary of the Chinchpokli Ganesh mandal. He said that Adanis approached the Mandal after being impressed by the social work undertaken by the Mandal. The Mandal is creating a replica of the famous Tirupati temple to house Lord Ganesh this year.However, this has not gone well with both the devotees as well as political parties who described it as a hijacking of this festival by the corporates.For the neighbourhoods, the festival which was financed by small donations by households and small shopkeepers, entry by the corporates with deep pockets is seen as loss of innocence of this fest.“This Maharashtrian festival is being taken over by the corporates and this is just a beginning. The whole area will be monopolised by Adani and Ambani banners and gradually they will lord over the mandals,” warned Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Sandeep Deshpande. “The common Karyakartas (workers) will be getting increasingly marginalised and paid workers will rule,” he added. Anant Ambani, Executive Director, Reliance Industries was appointed as honorary advisor of Lalbaugcha Raja and is a familiar face during the 11-day festival regularly taking part in the daily Aartis. In fact, last year, he also took part in the Visarjan (immersion) of the Lord. In 2024, Anant Ambani and Reliance Foundation gifted a 20-kilogram gold crown valued at Rs 15 crore to Lalbaugcha Raja.Deshpande has a point as till last year, majority of the banners outside Lalbaugcha Raja were of the Reliance group and featured Anant Ambani prominently. Huge Opportunity The Parel-Lalbaug belt dominated by the labour and middle class is the mecca of Ganesh Festival which is visited by crores of people across the country during the 11-day festival. Sunil Ghume, a resident of Parel who has seen the festival evolved across decades, asserts, “The corporates see a huge opportunity in this area as it gives them a branding opportunity as well as helps them to network.” “Do you think these Mandals can defy these corporates given their money power and influence?” questioned Ghume. Ghume rued that locals are feeling being left out in the festivals. “Families used to come together, hold competitions and mingle together. However huge funding has played a spoilsport,” he added.Though the Sarvajanik Ganesh festival was started by Lokmanya Tilak as a part of political mobilisation against the British rule in 1893, it was Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray who realised the potential of this fest. The Ganesh festival played an important role in the growth of the saffron outfit which can be gauged from the fact that all major Sena leaders have headed Ganpati mandals. The Ganesh Galli Mandal is headed by Kiran Tawde who is a current BMC corporator from Shiv Sena UBT while Sudhir Salvi who is currently secretary of Lalbaugcha Raja is a top Sena leader. Till a decade back, going to Lalbaug-Parel belt and visiting various Ganesh Mandals and enjoying the different poses of the Ganesh Idol used to be family routine. However, this has all changed as getting here during the fest is a herculean task and getting Darshan of Lalbaugcha Raja takes hours standing in serpentine queue. “During childhood it was pleasure to visit various mandals. But now it’s becoming impossible given the mammoth crowd. The rich people get faster access while common people have to wait for hours,” rued 55-year-old Mahesh Halwai, who is a Lalbaug resident.

AI in Sperm Sorting: An Unbiased Decision for A Better Outcome

Artificial Intelligence or AI is revolutionising fertility treatments of the future. The inclusion of AI enhances the accuracy, efficiency, and objectivity of sperm selection, hence potentially improving fertility outcomes by leaps and bounds. Traditionally, sperm sorting through manual methods is subjective to judgments. Processes like centrifugation and swim-up methods are used to separate sperm based on motility and morphology. Although they are effective, they have their limitations, leading to human errors that affect the success rates of fertility treatment. For instance, studies have shown that traditional sperm sorting techniques can have variability in success rates, with reported live birth rates ranging between 15 per cent to 25 per cent per cycle depending on the method and quality of sperm. Hence the introduction of AI helps in maintaining consistency in evaluations of sperm, using the same data set for every sample which leads to better judgments.


Automation and Standardisation- Automation of sperm selection and also introduction of AI in the process have improved the results in ART. AI-assisted sperm selection improves the accuracy in choosing high-quality sperm for fertilisation purposes, and also, pregnancy and live birth rates might be improved. Technologies like Intracytoplasmic Morphologically Selected Sperm Injection along with AI ensure the chances of pregnancies increase by about 10-20 per cent compared to the standard procedures. AI and Automation will decrease time taken to analyze sperm and increase opportunities to select better sperm with DNA integrity for better development and higher success rates in embryo selection. These processes ensure that the sperm selection process follows consistent criteria, reducing variability in outcomes caused by human error.


Analysing Complex Data for Better Outcomes- AI plays a crucial in improving IVF outcomes by analysing complex data and providing tailored recommendations. AI-driven tools and models such as those on SpOvum.ai point towards an opportunity to optimise ovarian stimulation decisions by assessing patient characteristics and follicle growth patterns. A study revealed that the use of AI in IVF improved egg yield and reduced medication costs. AI enables fertility specialists to make data-driven choices, improving overall IVF success rates and streamlining treatment processes.


Reducing Human Error- AI models can continuously learn and refine their performance by being trained on newer data. This adaptability ensures the technology remains unbiased and up-to-date with the latest scientific insights into sperm quality and fertility success rates. Studies have shown that AI-driven sperm sorting can decrease human-related errors by up to 25 per cent, improving sperm selection quality in terms of morphology and motility.


Reduction of Sperm Damage- The new AI-driven sperm sorting techniques also include microfluidic systems that are known to exhibit several advantages over the most commonly used conventional method, which is centrifugation. Traditional centrifugation methods, such as density gradient centrifugation, also cause severe oxidative stress and DNA fragmentation of the sperm because of the very high mechanical forces involved. The AI-infused microfluidic sorting minimises this damage significantly by involving gentler processes that mimic the natural pathway of sperm selection. The studies show that the process of microfluidic sorting decreases DNA fragmentation in sperm, which gives improved opportunities for success for IVF. For example, DNA fragmentation is 20 percent lower in sperm sorted using microfluidic processes than in traditional processing methods.


AI is bound to play an increasingly definitive role in fertility treatments, which will improve the outcomes for couples experiencing infertility.


(The author is a Co-Founder & CEO at SpOvum® Technologies. Views personal.)

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