Mumbai: 1 in 3 Ganpati idols immersed in eco-friendly spots so far

Mumbaikars are turning over a green leaf with one-third of Ganesh idols this year immersed in artificial lakes. Though the number is less than the 50 per cent idols immersed in artificial ponds in 2020 and 2021, this year's figures still fare much better than the pre-pandemic 15 to 20 per cent.

Apart from the 73 natural immersion spots across the city, including lakes, rivers and seashores, there are 162 artificial immersion points set up this year. This includes artificial lakes provided by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in each ward.

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A Ganpati idol being immersed at an artificial pond at BMC Gymkhana in Dadar. File pic

The idea of developing artificial lakes was first mooted by former mayor Shubha Raul in 2008 and a lake was dug up in the mayor's house. Earlier, the BMC used to provide one or two lakes in each of 24 wards. In 2019, there were 32 artificial lakes, but the number saw a sharp increase of around 500 per cent during the past two years, due to the pandemic-related restrictions on gathering.

While many have returned to natural spots this year, there are still many takers for the artificial ones. Of the around 1.55 lakh idols immersed so far this year, 58,597 or 38 per cent were in eco-friendly ponds.

"The overall awareness towards eco-friendly ways has been increasing in the past few years. It can be seen not only at immersion spots but other levels also. We visited many pandals this year and most of them now opted for idols made up of eco-friendly material. So we will move towards non-POP idols in the next few years," said Naresh Dahibaonkar, president of Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti.

33,384
No of idols immersed in artificial ponds in 2019

58,597
No of idols immersed in artificial ponds so far this year

162
No of artificial immersion spots in the city this year