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Journalism of Courage
After Ganesh visarjan was banned in Maharashtra’s Panchganga river, idols of Lord Ganesh were immersed using a conveyor-belt machine in the Irani Khan Ganapati Visarjan lake in Kolhapur.
Videos of the conveyor-belt machine, installed by the municipal corporation, that show “eco-friendly” idols falling into water as the onlookers chant “ganpati bappa morya” are going viral.
Netizens have expressed mixed opinions about the use of conveyor-belt technology for the ritual. a A Twitter user wrote that mechanising the visarjan process would help to maintain public order.
https://twitter.com/Varrsha2/status/1567053677331873795
“How many times we’ve heard of news of boats being capsized during ganpati visarjan resulting in loss of lives. So this method may help preventing these type of accidents,” read the user’s comment.
Another Twitter user commented, “A great effort by Kolhapur Municipal Corporation for Ganesh Visarjan.🙏 Notice that the Nirmlaaya (garlands and flowers) have been removed in advance to avoid polluting the water further.”
However, many people felt that the use of machines dampened the festivities. “Honestly, didn’t like this concept. Going into the lake/river and doing Visarjan of Bappa has a different feel to it, which cannot be replaced by technology. Trying to add science/technology in every tradition and festival is undesirable,” a Twitter user wrote.
The immersion of Ganesh idols in waterbodies marks the end of the popular Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
