Every year when she bid adieu to the elephant-headed god at Juhu beach, collegian Amita Sawant would guiltily look over her shoulder at the remnants of the idols, decorations and flowers getting washed ashore.
“The sight was disturbing and I felt that the Lord deserved a better and more eco-friendly farewell,” she says.
So this year, the 19-year-old convinced her family to spare a thought for the environment and desist from polluting the Arabian Sea.
“We immersed the idol in an artificial pond at Hegdewar Park near our Vile Parle home,” she adds.
The Sawants are among hundreds of families and smaller Ganpati mandals in the city who are making good use of the man-made ponds initiated by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to control water pollution during Ganpati immersion.
“Ever since the immersions began, 1,477 small to medium idols including 1,426 gharguti Ganpatis, four sarvajanik Ganpatis and 47 Gauris have been immersed in the pond,” said Krishna Hegde, MLA of the Vile Parle area. The 25x15 feet pond is 10 feet deep.
There are 20 such artificial water bodies in the city built at an estimated cost of Rs90 lakh. And the BMC is hoping to convince more people to use them and help curb water pollution.
Civic officials informed DNA that last year around 14,000 idols were immersed in 19 man-made lakes in the city built at a cost of Rs60 lakh. “This year, we are estimating that 30,000 idols will be brought and immersed in the 22 artificial ponds,” said Kishore Kshirsagar, deputy municipal commissioner.
The BMC has tied up with local NGOs, resident associations and student bodies to take forward the message of ecological conservation during the festival.
“It’s a great idea since it not only helps preserve the environment but also avoids traffic congestion while saving time,” said Ramesh Pawar, a volunteer at the Ganpati immersion at the pond in Sai Nagar, Kandivli.
