No PoP idols at lakes, BBMP plans to station volunteers

Bengaluru: The BBMP is upping its ante to deal with the menace of Plaster of Paris (PoP) Ganesha idols. This year, it is planning to station volunteers at lakes and immersion spots to stop people from immersing PoP idols and polluting the water bodies.I

The BBMP recently began an intense drive and raided PoP idol manufacturing units. But they may not be able to stop the influx of environmentally harmful idols, which are transported from neighbouring states Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, sources said.

A senior BBMP officer said that the volunteers at water bodies will alert BBMP officials, who will be on rounds on days of idol immersion. “We don’t want people to immerse PoP idols and pollute the water bodies. By stopping these people, we will send out a strong message that there is no way a PoP idol will be allowed to be immersed,” he said.

“The idea is still at its nascent stages and we will inform the BBMP Commissioner and Mayor to seek their opinion. Only after they give their approval, we will see how many volunteers are required. We had tried the same plan last year, but due to last minute issues, we could not go ahead with it. This time, however, we are sure of implementing the plan to stop the PoP menace,” he said.

The Palike is trying hard to stop manufacturing of PoP idols, but they are still finding their way into the the market.

Mr Somashekar Rao, who puts up a Ganesha idol stall at K.R. Puram every year, said, “We get requests from people for PoP idols as they are more attractive because of the colouring. But we have taken a stand against selling PoP idols as they are harmful to water bodies. The BBMP is also seen creating awareness among people against PoP idols.”