Surat prepares 21 artificial ponds; to deploy cops, cranes for safe immersion of Ganesh idols
In a bid to ensure smooth immersion of idols, SMC and fire department officials will be deployed at these spots, while traffic personnel will be present at the ponds.
3 min read
Under the leadership of Surat Municipal Commissioner Shalini Agarwal, a committee was formed, comprising officials of the Surat police department, revenue department, and the Zonal heads of all nine municipal zones.A record number of 81,000 Ganesh pandals, featuring various themes including ‘Operation Sindoor’, ‘vocal for local’, and water conservation, among others, have been installed in Surat city, according to the Shree Ganesh Utsav Samiti.
With the upcoming Anant Chaturdashi, the Surat Municipal Corporation has created 21 artificial ponds for the immersion of idols up to five feet in length, while the taller ones will be directly taken from the pandals to the Dumas, Hazira, and Ichhapore areas along the coast. In a bid to ensure smooth immersion of idols, SMC and fire department officials will be deployed at these spots, while traffic personnel will be present at the ponds. The SMC has also made arrangements for giant cranes in coastal areas, so that the tall idols can be taken in boats for immersion, official sources said.
District authorities had appealed to pandal owners and the public not to immerse idols in the Tapi river or canals on the occasion of Anant Chaturdashi, September 6.
Meanwhile, the SMC has so far received 1,700 entries from different Ganesh pandals for the statewide contest organised by the government. On August 21, Minister of State for Home, Harsh Sanghavi, had announced the contest for the best Ganesh pandal themed on patriotism featuring Operation Sindoor and Swadeshi, using local materials. The winner will get an award of Rs 5 lakh, followed by the first runner-up who will get Rs 3 lakh, and Rs 1.5 lakh for the second runner-up.
Under the leadership of Surat Municipal Commissioner Shalini Agarwal, a committee was formed, comprising officials of the Surat police department, revenue department, and the Zonal heads of all nine municipal zones. SMC Deputy Municipal Commissioner Gayetri Jariwala said, “The zonal committee will visit these pandals, inspect the pandals, idols, and prepare a report individually. All these reports will be compiled into different categories and later presented to the central committee, comprising the Surat district collector, SMC commissioner, and Surat police commissioner. The committee will review the pandals and idols and give prizes to the winners in the coming days.”
With the weather department’s forecast of heavy to very heavy rainfall for the next few days, SMC, police, and district officials have jointly worked out a plan for the safety of the people during the immersion process.
According to the Shree Ganesh Utsav Samithi, Surat city had around 75,000 Ganesh idols installed last year.
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