Hyderabad's immersion ponds neglected on Karthika Pournami

Hyderabad: On the day of Karthika Pournami, the immersion ponds at many of the lakes in the city, which are meant to be used by the devotees, are left untreated by the GHMC.

The officials think that this is not such a major festival like Ganesh Chaturti or Bathukamma. But devotees seek equal treatment to this festival, asking why why the ponds were not ready for them.

Some of the ponds in the city are not in a position to welcome devotees, due to lack of maintenance. Ms Kotra Sowmya, a devotee from Alkapuri, said that though there are immersion ponds near our Neknampur lake, it is only filled with a green layer with plastic strewn across the pond, emitting unbearable stink.

It would have been better if the pond was clea-ned as they do for Vinay-aka Chavithi. Since we do not have a proper place to leave earthen lamps on the festival, we have used the lake itself, as we are using only eco-friendly puja samgari.”

Lake activists are also not happy about the lack of regular cleaning of these immersion ponds. Ms Madhulika Choudh-ary, a lake activist, said: “These ponds were constructed by spending a lot of money to protect lakes from getting polluted. For the same purpose, these ponds should be maintained properly as well. If these ponds are not available to the people at the time of festivals, people would again start using  the lake and start polluting it, which is not good for aquatic animals and the quality of water.”

When contacted GHMC officials, they brushed it off saying that Karthika Pournami is not a major festival like Bathukamma and Vinayaka Chavithi and said that they have not received any instructions from the higher officials on the maintenance.