Telangana: With the view to protect the waterbodies from hazardous pollution, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and the Pune-based KinderSports, a leading sports education company in India, have collaborated on the installation of pre-fabricated portable pools for the first time in the country across Hyderabad for the immersion of Lord Ganesha idols made from Plaster of Paris (PoP) and clay on Ganesha Visharjan festival.
Specialised inflatable swimming pools made from Flexible Industrial Grade PVC materialhave been installed at about 24 locations across Hyderabad for the first time in the country to facilitate the devotees to immerse the PoP idols on Ganesh Chaturthi. These portable pools may be converted and used as swimming pools in various parts of the city during the summer season.
GHMC initiated the portable swimming pool project following the Supreme Court's instruction to the State authorities not to allow the immersion of PoP idols in Hussainsagar to protect the waterbodies from hazardous chemicals.
The Pune-based KinderSports has been using portable swimming pools as part of its 'Pool 4 School' initiative, which aims to give aquatic education to children who do not have access to swimming pools.
Officials in the GHMC said that the portable pools have been deployed at 24 locations across Hyderabad, including Mehdipatnam, Karwan, Goshamahal, Khairatabad, Jubilee Hills, NTR Stadium, Amberpet Stadium, Chikalguda Ground, Kapra, Uppal, Hayatnagar, LB Nagar, Saroornagar in Hyderabad city.
Every year, India celebrates Ganesh Chaturthi with much pomp and fervour. The ten-day event begins on Lord Ganesh's birthday. On the tenth day, the devotees bid farewell with a spectacular parade culminating with the Visarjan of the Lord's Idol in bodies of water.
By the end of Ganesh Visarjan in water bodies, there is a great deal of trash, which causes water pollution. Flowers, fruits, and incense sticks litter the beaches and shorelines in plastic bags. The majority of idols are created from Plaster of Paris, also known as Calcium Sulphate hemihydrate, which takes many months to disintegrate, resulting in protracted water contamination.
"This first-of-its-kind project to protect the environment and waterbodies in Hyderabad," said Nikhil Laddha, Director of KinderSports. "We use these inflatable pools for aquatic education to the school children across the country. Now, we will use these pools to bid adieu to the Bappa (Lord Ganesha) in Hyderabad."
According to Laddha, many cities across the country facing the axe of the Supreme Court and respective High Courts have been constructing artificial RCC ponds to immerse Ganesha idols. Such artificial ponds require a lot of open space and cannot be reused. In the case of portable swimming pools, the pools can be dismantled, and the space can be utilised, or the pools may be usedas swimming pools to provide aquatic training to schoolchildren and even adults.
"An artificial pond costs an in lakhs, whereas we are providing the reusable pools at a fraction of the price," said Laddha. "Our goal is to provide high-quality, environmentally friendly equipment to promote sports education in India. "The portable swimming pools will be utilised for the first time in Hyderabad to immerse Ganesha idols,"
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