18 September,2024 08:35 PM IST | Mumbai | Prajakta Kasale
Representational Pic/File
Less than 40 percent of Ganesh idols turned to artificial lakes, even after 204 lakes were made available across the city. Out of 2.09 lakh idols, only 82,222 idols were immersed in man-made ponds.
Immersing idols in artificial ponds helps prevent water pollution and offers a more environmentally friendly way to dispose of the remains. Though the concept of artificial lakes was mooted in 2008, progress has been on a slow track for 17 years. In 2019, there were 32 artificial lakes across the city, but the number saw a five-fold increase after crowd restrictions during the Covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The immersions in artificial lakes rose from less than 20 per cent to more than 50 per cent in these two years. Even after Covid, the popularity of such lakes due to a safe and clean environment increased, but the numbers have stagnated after three years.
Approximately 2.06 lakh idols were immersed in natural as well as artificial lakes last year. Out of the 2.06 lakh idols, 76,000 found their way into artificial ponds. Last year, the BMC provided 194 artificial lakes; this time, the number increased by just 10. Out of 2.09 lakh idols, a little over 82,000 idols were immersed in the last 11 days into artificial lakes.
Naresh Dahibaonkar of the Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti said, "As there aren't enough artificial lakes available in the vicinity, many people nowadays opt to immerse clay idols at home or in drums turned into ponds inside the housing society premises. It also impacts the counting of idols at public immersion spots."
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This year, the BMC made available the list of artificial lakes on Google Maps with the aim of making the information easily accessible to the citizens. The 'QR Codes' for information on artificial lakes were placed in a visible area outside sarvajanik pandals.
Total idols - Immersion in artificial lakes (% of Total)
2015 - 1,92,308 - 25,453 (13)
2016 - 2,10,118 - 30,359 (14)
2017 - 2,02,352 - 29,283 (14)
2018 - 1,80,565 - 36,719 (20)
2019 - 1,96,483 - 33,925 (17)
2020 - 1,35,515 - 70,233 (52)
2021 - 1,64,761 - 79,129 (48)
2022 - 1,93,062 - 66,127 (34)
2023 - 2,05,722 - 76,709 (37)
2024 - 2,08,992 - 82,222 (39)
