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No artificial ponds for Ganpati immersion this year, PMC announces
Instead, the civic body has appealed citizens to go for eco-friendly idols and immerse them at home.
In order to prevent crowding due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided not to build artificial tanks for Ganpati immersions this year.
Instead, the civic body has appealed citizens to go for eco-friendly idols and immerse them at home.
The decision was taken by PMC during a meeting chaired by mayor Murlidhar Mohol on Wednesday where other PMC officials were also present. Around 2.5 lakh Ganpati idols were immersed last year in artificial tanks built by civic body as part of its eco-friendly drive.
Dynaneshwar Molak, department head of solid waste management said, “The artificial ponds will remain closed as we do not want people to violate the norms of social distancing which can lead to the spread of infection. We are focusing more on promoting the use of ammonium bicarbonate powder. PMC will provide a free ammonium bicarbonate powder packet of two kilograms to everyone who will be purchasing the Ganesh idols. We just hope this decision would not make people perform Ganesh Visarjan in the rivers of Pune violating the rules for the sake of devotion.”
This year, the 10-day Ganesh festival will be celebrated from August 22 to September 1. In view of the Covid pandemic, the government has already appealed mandals to not celebrate the festival in a big way. During the meeting, PMC officials also decided to not issue fresh passes for mandals this year and instead mandals can use last year’s passes for erecting a mandap.
Sachin Punekar, an environmentalist, stated, “I think, this is a great decision for the environment as well as for the safety of the citizens of Pune. The artificial tanks can also be installed at a society level. If PMC successfully promotes this initiative of visarjan at home then I believe that citizens of Pune would not violate the government guidelines as they have followed the previous guidelines effectively.”
Varsha Mandke, a resident of Warje said, “We enjoy the Ganesh visarjan at home as it saves the environment and helps blossoms my plants in the balcony. I got the ammonium bicarbonate powder for free along with the Ganesh Idol last year and the experiment was successful. I choose to stay home and stay safe in the Covid-19 crises and I would not perform visarjan in an artificial pond even if there is an option for it.”
Saket Ambardekar, a resident of Sahakar Nagar said, “I am not even sure whether this year we are going to bring a Ganesh Idol at home. Instead, we might worship the existing metallic idol which we have in our house. It also becomes easier to perform visarjan at home without using the ammonium bicarbonate powder. I believe it is a safer and smarter option at this crucial time where everyone is struggling to stay safe.”
