Mumbai, Sep 16 (IANS): Over one lakh devotees made use of the free WiFi service, AAMCHANET, provided at popular Ganesh pandals and immersion sites across Mumbai and which received a massive response from the devotees.

The service was a result of a partnership between IN-Broadband and Maharashtra Cable Operators Federation (MCOF), who had joined hands to enable throngs of devotees to stay connected with one another through the internet.

According to a statement issued by IN-Broadband, over 1,30,000 devotees used the service during the fortnight-long festival, culminating on Thursday with the immersion of Ganesha idols in water bodies across the nation.

Lalbaughcha Raja Pandal, Ganesh Galli and popular immersion site of Girgaon Chowpatty were among the many places where the free service was provided.

"AAMCHANET service was a first-of-its-kind initiative and was introduced with the aim to offer hordes of devotees visiting pandals for the elephant God's blessing an opportunity to celebrate this festival with their loved ones and friends irrespective of distance," Yugal Sharma, IN-Broadband CEO, said.

"We are pleased to see the great response to ‘AAMCHANET' services and hope with this, we were able to ensure devotees could celebrate on the go, as 'Aamchi Mumbai' bids adieu to their favourite God today," he added.

IN-Broadband is part of NXT Digital, which is a next generation digital services platform, combining the best of DTH (Direct-to-Home) and cable technology.

Thursday will be the last day that the free WiFi service will be provided.