PMC urges residents not to pollute water bodies during Ganesh festival, puts up water tanks for immersion

“Residents are appealed to not to immerse idols in natural water bodies but in other facilities that are being provided by the PMC across the city,” said Asha Raut, in-charge of the civic solid waste management department.

Raut said the PMC has put up 46 concrete tanks and 359 steel tanks at 177 locations for residents to immerse idols. “There will be as many as 200 mobile water tanks moving around the city. Residents should take maximum benefit of the facility.”

The PMC will set up collection centres at 191 locations where residents can donate idols instead of immersing them, Raut said. There will be collection centres for floral waste at all the locations where the idol immersion facility is being provided.

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There are plans of reusing the sand used for making idols, Raut said, “Many organisations have come forward to reuse the sand. The sand is a limited resource and its excavation affects the environment adversely. Also, the immersion of sand idols in natural water body increases the sludge and affects aquatic life. So, the sand will be given to sculptors for reuse. The collection centres for sand idols can be checked on http://www.punaravartan.org.”

The PMC also urged residents to segregate floral waste and not mix it with food waste, which is used to create manure supplied to farmers.