Mumbai: 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.

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.

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.

‘Today we are sending Lord Ganesha home,’ 48-year-old Praveen Jarhav told AFP on Mumbai’s famous Chowpatty beach.

The festival is celebrated annually across India and is marked by Hindus in every corner of the globe.

This year’s edition commenced on 17 September.

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.

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.

Security was tight with 45,000 police officers on the streets and Kulkarni said that by late evening operations were going smoothly.