HYDERABAD: To discourage people from immersing idols in lakes, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has come up with a unique initiative of providing portable water tanks and also to dig up ponds for the immersion of Ganesh idols
The decision was made in compliance with the Supreme Court's directive prohibiting the immersion of idols made of plaster of Paris (PoP) in the Hussainsagar.
Accordingly, portable tanks, which would cost Rs 3 crore, would be erected at 24 locations in the city. A GHMC official stated that each excavation pond would cost `3 lakh, while each baby pond's upkeep would cost Rs 3 lakh.
To reduce the strain on Hussainsagar lake, there would be an increase in the number of immersion locations from the current 28 to 74. Further, 28 small ponds where idols taller than six feet can be immersed have been identified, the GHMC official stated.
Twenty-two temporary excavation ponds for idol immersion will be dug up in various locations throughout the city, including the Secunderabad, Charminar and Khairatabad zones. These ponds could be filled up after use, unlike the traditional artificial ponds which had to be constructed by digging a hole close to lakes.
After the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, the GHMC official told Deccan Chronicle that the portable tanks might be disassembled and then reassembled for various purposes. The staff of the civic body will be in charge of these mobile ponds, helping with the immersion of the idols as well as sorting and removing the puja paraphernalia that go with the idols.
