Environmentalist Calls on Authorities to Curb PoP Idol Immersion in Hussainsagar

Hyderabad: An environmentalist, who had moved court to implement the Central Pollution Control Board ban on immersion Plaster of Paris (PoP) idols in water bodies, namely Hussainsagar, has called upon senior state and police officers to ensure there is no repeat of the violation during the immersion of Durga idols.

It is estimated that there are over 50,000 PoP Durga idols installed on pandals across the city.

Mamidi Venu Madhav, environmentalist who had raised a petition in court, told Deccan Chronicle, “The orders of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice N.V. Shravan Kumar had been violated during Ganesh immersion on September 25. The same (order) is applicable for the Goddess Durga idols too.”

The order was issued in 2021 to protect the Hussainsagar due to its fragile nature, but the orders were not followed since, according to Madhav.

He said he had served notice to the Chief Secretary, principal secretary, municipal administration, the DGP and all the three police commissioners in the city, who are charged with implementing court orders. He said a copy has also been marked to Vikas Raj, Chief Electoral Officer.”

Venu Madhav called on enforcement authorities to impose strict fines on violators under the principle of ‘polluter pays’ to ensure there is no repeat of such action.