Ganesha comes home, business goes down in Bangalore

This year onwards, people will not be allowed to immerse Ganesha idols themselves. The state government has appointed swimmers for the purpose to ensure no incidents of drowning take place.

Home minister R Ashoka announced this on Wednesday while inspecting Sankey tank. He noted that there had been many incidents in the past when people drowned while taking the idols into deep water for immersion. Also, he advised adults to keep an eye on their children during immersion.

Twenty-six lakes have been identified in the city to immerse Ganesha idols, including Ulsoor lake, Sankey tank, Yediyur lake and Saneguruvanahalli lake. Ashoka informed that 163 mobile tanks too would be available for immersion. Each immersion site will have a separate box in which people should put flowers and decorative items such as mango leaves. These items are not to be immersed with the idols.

The home minister said the government wanted the citizens to adopt eco-friendly ways and ensure that their celebrations did not affect  environment in any way. He said the idol sculptors should use minimal paint on the idols. He said if paint had to be used at all, it should be vegetable paint and not lead paint. Further, he asked people to celebrate Ganesha Chaturthi as peacefully as Eid was celebrated on Wednesday.

Business remains dull
Even as there was festive mood in the city on the occasion of Eid and Gowri puja, traders said their sales this year were less when compared with past year. A trader who was selling Gowri and Ganesha idols in Malleswaram told DNA that last year he had sold more than 1,300 idols in three days as against 750 idols this year. A salesperson at a store that sells blouse pieces—a fast moving item during the festive season— too said the business was dull this year as the sales were low.

Meanwhile, prices of flowers and fruits continued to soar, with one molla of jasmine being sold for `20. Prices of betel leaves, bananas and other flowers too remained high.