AP PHOTOS: Indians celebrate the birthday of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha

MUMBAI, India (AP) — A large idol of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha sat in the back of an open truck traveling along a busy Mumbai street, dwarfing other objects on the road. Hundreds of devotees walked alongside singing hymns glorifying the god, believed to be the remover of obstacles and the granter of wishes.

The devotees took the idol to their small but densely populated neighborhood, where they and others will worship it for 10 days. Many will whisper their wishes in Lord Ganesha’s ear and present him offerings of his favorite sweets made with coconut and jaggery called modak.

At the end of the festival known as Ganesh Chaturthi, devotees will then transport the idol to a nearby beach where they will ceremonially immerse it into the sea. The elephant-headed god will thus return to his heavenly abode after being made aware of people’s wishes.

During the festival, which started Sept. 7 this year, millions of devotees all over India celebrate the birth of Ganesha, one of the most worshipped gods in Hinduism, by immersing idols of him, big and small, in ponds, rivers and the sea. But the festival finds its most fervent followers in Mumbai, a major coastal metropolis and business center in western India.

Hundreds of migrant artisans arrive in the city each year to help meet the seasonal demand for the idols. Traveling a significant distance by train from the north, usually without their families, these male artisans spend about four months sleeping, eating and building statues at various workshops in the city.

The preferred building material is quick-setting gypsum plaster, commonly known as plaster of paris. With it, the builders can construct large, relatively light idols in a short time.

While the environmental impact of immersing large numbers of plaster statues in bodies of water is a subject of debate, demand for idols made of mud has increased. Vishal Shinde, a manufacturer of idols in Mumbai, has made 470 mud idols this year.

“We are receiving more orders each year to build mud idols painted with watercolors as people are becoming more concerned about the environment,” Shinde said.

Kunal Patil, a Mumbai journalist, is one such customer. Each year he buys a small mud idol and after ritual prayers immerses it in a large container of water at home. This way, he says, he can bring the mud settled at the bottom of the container back to the manufacturer to be used to build more statues.

A devotee carries an idol of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha on his head to immerse in the Arabian Sea, during the ten days long Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Devotees react as they watch the immersion of an idol of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha in the Arabian Sea, during the ten days long Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

A devotee carries an idol of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha on his head for immersion in the Arabian Sea, during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Kunal Patil, along with his family and relatives offer prayers to an eco-friendly idol of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha at his residence during Ganesh Chaturthi festival celebrations in Mumbai, India, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Flowers, incense sticks and a coconut are kept as offerings at the feet an idol of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Devotees light firecrackers as an idol of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesh is transported to a place of worship during the Ganesh Chaturti festival in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

An Idol of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesh is transported through a street to a place of worship for the Ganesh Chaturti festival in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

A family carries an idol of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha to home for worship during Ganesh Chaturthi festival celebrations in Mumbai, India, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

A devotee wears a t-shirt with the picture elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha during Ganesh Chaturthi festival celebrations in Mumbai, India, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

A devotee carries an idol of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha to home on a motorcycle for worship during Ganesh Chaturthi festival celebrations in Mumbai, India, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Idols of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha are displayed for sale at a shop during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival celebrations in Mumbai, India, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

People crowd a market as they shop for Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

An idol of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesh is transported through a street to a place of worship ahead of the Ganesh Chaturti festival in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

A scooterist drives past a workshop for idols of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesh ahead of Ganesh Chaturti festival in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Devotees offers prayers to Idols of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesh before they are transported to a place of worship during the Ganesh Chaturti festival in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

A worker takes a nap next to idols of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha inside a workshop ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

An artist applies finishing touches to an idol of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha inside a workshop ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai , India, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

An artist works on an idol of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha inside a workshop for Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai , India, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Workers complete an idol of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha inside a workshop ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Workers work on an idol of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha inside a workshop ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

An artist works on an idol of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha inside a workshop ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

GENEVA (AP) — Independent U.N. human rights experts said in a new report Tuesday that their findings show Venezuela's government has intensified the use of “harshest and most violent" tools of repression following the disputed July presidential election.

The official results of the July 28 vote have been widely criticized as undemocratic, opaque and aimed to maintain President Nicolás Maduro in power.

In its report, the fact-finding mission on Venezuela, commissioned by the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council, denounced rights violations including arbitrary detentions, torture, and sexual and gender-based violence by the country's security forces that “taken as a whole, constitute the crime against humanity of persecution on political grounds.”

“During the period covered by this report, and especially after the presidential election of July 28, 2024, the state reactivated and intensified the harshest and most violent mechanisms of its repressive apparatus,” said the experts in the report, which covered a one-year period through Aug. 31.

The findings echo concerns from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Human Rights Watch, and others about Venezuela and its democracy, including repression before and after the highly anticipated vote and the subsequent flight into exile of Venezuela's opposition leader Edmundo González.

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, which is stacked with Maduro loyalists, said he won with 52% of the vote. But opposition supporters collected tally sheets from 80% of the nation's electronic voting machines, and said that indicated González had won the election — with twice as many votes as Maduro.

Global condemnation over the lack of transparency prompted Maduro to ask Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice, whose members are aligned with the ruling party, to audit the results. The high court reaffirmed his victory.

The independent experts, who do not represent the United Nations, decried the government's efforts to crush peaceful opposition to its rule.

The justice system — led by the Supreme Tribunal — “is clearly subordinated” to the interests of Maduro and his close allies and served as a “key instrument in its plan to repress all forms of political and social opposition,” they wrote.

In the hours after Maduro was declared the winner, thousands of people took to the streets across Venezuela. The protests were largely peaceful, but demonstrators also toppled statues of Maduro’s predecessor, the late Hugo Chávez, threw rocks at law enforcement officers and buildings, and burned police motorcycles and government propaganda.

Maduro's government responded to the demonstrations with full force, carrying out arbitrary detentions, prosecutions as well as a campaign that encourages people to report relatives, neighbors and other acquaintances who participated in the protests or cast doubt on the results.

The independent experts said they compiled the report through interviews with 383 people and reviews of court case files and other documents while also acknowledging limits to their information-gathering in the post-election period.

The experts said their requests for information from Venezuelan authorities were “ignored” despite appeals for cooperation from the rights council, which is made up of a rotating membership among 47 U.N. member countries.

Associated Press writers Regina Garcia Cano in Mexico City and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro addresses government loyalists gathered at the presidential palace in support of his reelection one month after the presidential vote, in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

FILE - Protesters clash with police during demonstrations against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro's reelection, the day after the vote in Caracas, Venezuela, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)